


The One Good Thing

by The_Archives_of_Silver



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Child Physical Abuse, Daniel is back to ruin some lives, David is trying to be a good dad, Eventual Gwenvid, F/M, Forced Marriage, Gwen is a good mom, I’m back to break some hearts, Kidnapping, Past Kidnapping, Physical Abuse, Some Fluff, alternative storyline, dadvid, gwenmom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-03-28 06:23:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 18
Words: 38,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13898151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Archives_of_Silver/pseuds/The_Archives_of_Silver
Summary: Seven years without Gwen has taken its toll on David’s heart, after she was kidnapped by Daniel. He was starting to believe he’d never see her again. At least he thought so.Seven years later and she’s suddenly back in his life, battered, bruised but strong. David had always dreamed of this moment; Reuniting with his best friend had become a fast fading hope after all.But things seem to be a little more complicated than he thought, with Gwen steadfast in her belief that David abandoned her and a small, unexpected child with eyes too similar to an old enemy’s.Alternative storyline to My Goddess on Earth.





	1. Prologue: Stalling

**Author's Note:**

> I’M BACK, BABIES! I was once again super nervous about posting this story. I will post warnings in the beginning note of each chapter because I love you guys and I don’t want anyone feeling hurt or uncomfortable.
> 
> No warnings in this chapter.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen’s troubles don’t seem to end. Well, except for one good thing.

David never came for her. Why would he? It was clear he hated her. It was to be expected. Gwen didn't expect it to end like _this._

Gwen sat on her knees in the Pentagram room and watched as Daniel poured the poisoned wine into separate glasses, setting them down in front of her. Gwen licked her dry lips nervously as the deathly liquid swirled in her glass.

She was starting to think the purification sauna effects were a better option than being conscious. Upon seeing the candles, rose petals, and glasses of wine upon the pentagram rug, the chemicals that addled her brain began to clear. She didn't dare to tell him that the brain washing effects had worn off. He'd just drag her there and do it again.

Daniel smiled and raised his hands as he rose up on his knees. "Great Zeemug, we present ourselves as husband and wife to you and the ancient ones!" Daniel proclaimed to no one. "May you welcome me with your daughter in the Ancient council!"

He handed Gwen her glass and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"You must drink first." He murmured, holding the glass up to her lips.

Her mind raced in terror, trying to find an escape. He’d murder her if she violently resisted, or just brainwash her again. Both of which would end in death, one way or another. What would convince Daniel to put this off? She paused just as she she realized something. Something that could work to her advantage.

Full moons were not a rare occurrence. She knew Daniel didn't have to do this now, he had full moon after full moon to complete this ritual. She certainly didn't want to die now, even if David and everyone else hated her. She wanted to live, although it meant being stuck with Daniel for the rest of her life. Better than dying there with him, she’d have a chance to escape. The only way to ensure Daniel would have a reason to keep from killing the both of them was to give him a very good reason; one that would demand both their attention for the next eighteen years.

"Daniel, do we really have to do this now?" She asked hesitantly.

Daniel cocked a brow at her. "Of course, the sooner the better." He stated as if it were the most obvious thing on the planet.

"But what if you and I could live out our Earth lives here and when the time comes, then we can ascend together and with our...children!" She reasoned, twiddling her dress between her fingers nervously and mentally cringing at the word children.

Daniel raised his brows in a look of surprise. "You want to go through the pains of childbirth when you can have a painless birthing up with your father?" He asked incredulously.

"Umm, yeah!" Gwen said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible. "You only live once, here after all." Complete lie, she really didn't want to go through hours worth of childbirth but hey, better than death.

"Daniel, don't you want to make me happy?" She asked, putting on her best sad eyes and voice. Daniel's eyes widened and flickered for a minute, mouth parting for an answer. She resisted the urge to smile triumphantly. She got him into a corner.

"Of course I do!" He exclaimed, taking her hand.

"Then please, let's live together here for as long as we can." Gwen pleaded. "My father has been patient this long, what's a couple more years?"

Daniel looked aside for a minute or two. "I don't know, Zara." Daniel murmured. "Zeemug doesn't take well to disobedience."

 _Uh oh_.

If Zeemug were to be involved, she was as good as dead. Overwhelmed with fear, Gwen finally pulled out her best move. With disgust and discomfort boiling in her stomach, she leaned forward and pushed a kiss to his lips. He sharply inhaled at the contact and threw his hands through her hair.

If it weren't the fact that he'd know her lies, she kept herself from gagging at the way he touched her and how he kissed back. Ugh, this must have been how Jasmine felt when she had to kiss Jafar in Aladdin. Ew. She pulled away and blinked up at him like a sad kitten.

"Please Daniel." She pleaded, holding his hand up against her heart. He was silent for a long moment before letting out a sigh.

"Well, maybe Zeemug wouldn't be too upset that I waited a while longer." He said slowly. Gwen let out a quiet, relieved sigh and her heart felt weak.

"Well, what do I do with all this elixir?" Daniel asked. Gwen looked down at the glasses in his hand.

"I don't know." She answered simply. Not like she was gonna drink it.

"I'm gonna give it to a bear" He said simply, getting up with the glasses and bowl in hand.

"Don't give it to a bear." She called after him.

"I'm giving it to a bear." He responded from down the hall.

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Gwen's hollers died down and she heaved for air as a little cry filled the air. Daniel stood up proudly and cradled, wrapped in pure white linens, her goop covered, wailing baby. "A boy!" Daniel exclaimed. "Hail Zeemug for we have a boy, Zara!" 

Gwen barely caught that, still breathing hard as her birth pains faded away. Daniel spun around with his son in his arms, chanting multiple phrases in Latin.

"Daniel, can I see my baby please?" Gwen groaned, rubbing her temple.

"Oh, of course, honey!" Daniel said, rapidly finishing up cleaning the infant. He strode over and gently laid the baby in her arms. The baby had finished his crying, snuggling his damp face with a little whimper or two against her sweaty chest.

"We shall call him Ezekiel!" Daniel proclaimed, wrapping his arm around her. Gwen felt a surge of discomfort and cleared her throat.

"Daniel, can you get me some water please?" Gwen asked quietly, glancing up at him from her baby. Daniel looked down at her and gave her a smile.

"Sure thing!" Daniel said brightly. "I'll be right back!" With a skip and a jump, Daniel was out the door and off towards the kitchen.

Gwen looked down at Ezekiel, snoozing against her chest. He looked a lot like her, retaining almost all of her dominant traits. He had skin darker than Daniel's and lighter than hers. From the tiny fluff on his head, she could tell he had dark red hair like hers. Daniel wouldn't hesitate to bleach that when he's old enough. She could tell he had Daniel's nose though. She couldn't tell if he'd have her eyes yet, it was too early.

As she watched her son sleep, she recounted everything. Daniel kidnapping her, the beatings, him forcing her into things, how close she came to death.  
All leading up to the small baby in her arms.

"Hi, Ezekiel." Gwen whispered. "I'm your mommy."

Ezekiel snuggled his cheek into her chest with a tiny sigh. Though she wasn't overly fond of the name, she felt it fit him. He was her strength sent from above. She wasn't going to let Daniel taint him with his Zeemug garbage. She was going to do all she could to make sure he wouldn't turn out like the man who fathered him. Everything she would do from now on was for Ezekiel.

She just had to keep pretending. Keep up the act of the good, little wife. Pretending will keep you alive.

Do it for Ezekiel.


	2. Slice of awful life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of Gwen’s new life. Well, can’t really say it’s new. It’s been seven years after all. Ezekiel has gotten so big.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor trigger warning for past referenced physical domestic abuse. Nothing serious in this chapter.

Ezekiel skipped into the kitchen, where his mother was baking bread for dinner, humming merrily to himself. "Hi momma!" He said brightly.

"Hey, Ezzi." Gwen greeted, brushing her hands clean of flour.

"When will father be home?" He asked, sitting down on the couch patiently.

"About an hour and a half." She answered, sliding the unbaked bread into the oven.

She didn't even want to think about what Daniel was doing. He said he was gonna get more cheese for dinner but she wasn't so sure that was the only thing on his to do list. He probably was up to something awful.

"Who's better in Teen Prison Mom Wars?" Ezekiel asked, crossing his legs beneath him. He had never seen the show but his mother spoke of it often when his father was out.

"Shalissa, obviously." Gwen answered with a slam of the oven. "Quilique didn't even know how to properly use a prison shank to save her life."

Ezekiel laughed at his mother's answer, beaming at her with those big blue eyes. "I liked the other lady you told me about, Jessica." He giggled, uncrossing his legs and kicking his feet as he waited for his mother to respond.

"Oh hell no, Jessica was dumb as hell and you know it." Gwen retorted, "No son of mine is gonna like that witch, I'm glad Shalissa beat her a*s."

Ezekiel chortled as his mother's reaction.

When his father wasn't around, his mother was totally different. She was fun and wild, instead of quiet and submissive. She told him about funny women who fought each other for kicks and about werewolf princes who fell in love with ordinary, plain women. She did things that would've made his father furious if he caught her.

It was what he admired so much about her. She was extraordinary. She did things he didn't dare to try even with his father not around. His father could be awfully mean when he was mad. He couldn’t help but wonder why a volatile, sassy woman like her was doing with a iron back, no nonsense man like his father.

"Momma?" Ezekiel asked as he watched her finish cleaning up the ingredients.

"Yep?" She answered, curling up the flour pack and storing it away.

"How did you and father get together?" He asked.

Gwen's back lined with tension, the muscles in her body contracting. "Your father and I have two very different accounts on that." She answered simply, shutting away the last ingredients.

"What's your side?" Ezekiel asked.

She didn't want to tell him the full truth. Turning Ezekiel against his father would only end in disaster for both of them. So she did what she had done for the past seven years.

Pretend.

"At a camp." She answered like there was no dark story behind it all. "But maybe you should ask your dad his side of the story."

Ezekiel glanced to his feet and nodded. For a boy of seven years old, he wasn't naive. He knew when his mother pretended. He just didn't know why.

She’d be silent for a bit and look away as she answered. He could tell something was off. His father obviously did not sweep her off her feet like the werewolf men did to their lady loves in his mother’s stories. But he pressed no further and got off the couch.

"I'm gonna go make a paper boat for father," He said. "He likes them."

Gwen glanced at him from the corner of her eye, brushing back a bleached white lock in her vision.

"Good idea, bugger," She responded. With a little grin, Ezekiel skipped of to their shared room.

It was only a matter of time till he learned about his father's true nature. If she did a good job pretending for her son that everything was alright, Daniel did a better job. But not good enough; the warning signs were still there.

He was still violent if enraged, hitting both her and Ezekiel if they stepped out of line. She got the brunt of it. Seeing his father slap his mother was enough to push Ezekiel to tears. Thankfully, Daniel never use that cursed whip on Ezekiel. That was her specific punishment if she stepped to far.

But throughout the occasional violence, Ezekiel still loved his dad and Gwen allowed him to. He was so innocent and forgiving. Gwen didn’t want him to face the harsh reality yet. But she remained vigilant.

As Gwen secretly listened in to Daniel's teaching, he made no mentions nor implications of making human sacrifices yet to their son. Just basic teachings of prayer and behavioral rules. No books or music pieces that were not qualified by the temple, no television, no games that promoted anything that wasn’t Zeemug approved.

But whenever Daniel wasn't around, Gwen had her own teachings. She taught him that all life was precious and even people he didn’t agree with should be treated with respect. Even though some deserved a sock in the jaw, she tried to teach him to be peaceful. It surprised her at first that became such a prominent lesson. That was something Dav-

No.

Don't think about him. Never think about him. It'll hurt again. She already had too much hurt.

She just had to keep pretending. She learned after seven long years that if you pretend enough, the hurt will go away. Just as long as you keep pretending.  
Like an act for everyone to see.

Just keep up the act and everything will be ok.

Act like Zara and you'll be happy.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Daniel came home and Gwen kept pretending. Starting with pretending she didn't see the bloodstains on his shirt. "Hello, family!" He called cheerfully.

If she didn't greet him, he'd get angry. Nobody needed that right now. So with the same irritation that stayed with her over seven years and a straining, fake smile, she walked up to him.

"Hi." She greeted, wrapping one arm around his waist. He didn't seem to notice her unenthusiastic approached and gave her a kiss to her hair.

"How are you, honey?" He asked when he pulled away. "I'm alright." Gwen grunted. "How were things today?" She didn't want to know what those things were. So long as he wouldn't get Ezekiel involved.

"Fantastic as always!" He responded joyfully, pulling away to strip off his bloody shirt, with (unsurprising, because she’d seen him do the same thing multiple times to the point that it no longer affected her) a clean shirt just like the one he’d been wear underneath.

"Hi father!" Ezekiel called, running over to his father and into his waiting arms.

"How's my big kiddo?" Daniel said gleefully, lifting Ezekiel onto his hip.

"I made you another boat!" He responded brightly, pulling out a crumpled paper boat. Daniel turned it over in his hand with a smile.

"It looks great, pal!" He chirped, setting his son down. "I got the grapes and cheese, how's the bread and grape kool-aid going?"

"Kool-aid is in the fridge and the bread should be done in a couple minutes." She answered plainly, jabbing her thumb over her shoulder towards the kitchen.

"Well, let's get started on dinner in the meantime!" Daniel clapped, gripping Gwen's shoulder firmly and taking Ezekiel's hand as he led them to the kitchen.

 _Just keep pretending, Gwen,_ she assured herself. Just keep pretending and dream of place that's tucked away. A place where she and her Ezzi can stay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I bet you all are wondering, ”where’s David?”
> 
> Well don’t worry, you get your answer in the next chapter!
> 
> Adiós Gyarados!


	3. A Day at Camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse of life at Camp Campbell years later with familiar and new faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maxvid shippers do not interact! Maxvid shippers do not interact! Maxvid shippers do not interact!  
> Pedophilia is disgusting. This chapter is purely a father-son familial relationship.

"Yo, David!" Max shouted as he entered the counselor's cabin, "The rats are getting hungry, where the hell is Quartermaster?"

His dad was sitting at a desk, crunching some numbers on the next month's budget and jumped a bit at his son's sudden appearance.

"Oh, did you check if the rowboat is missing?" David answered looking at the 17 year old junior counselor.

David did not want to think about whatever Quartermaster did when he was left to Spooky Island. Probably involved covering up murders or something.

"Yes and it's there so he couldn't have gone far." Max snapped, "Honestly, even now that guy creeps the hell out of me." David couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"While I don't appreciate the language and I know he can be a bit...cryptic, but he's a valuable member of Camp Campbell." David reasoned, stacking up the papers and setting them aside. "I'll just handle dinner for now."

David patted Max's shoulder and lead him towards the mess hall.

The Mess hall was filled with kids, all new yet just like the kids Max hung out with when he was ten. Marcus, who was there for science camp was jumping on his feet waiting for them.

"Where's the food?" He asked energetically with his twin sister, Rachel on his heels.

"We're hungry!" Rachel whined, stomping her foot impatiently. 

Nikki, now much older and a junior counselor, walked in and lifted up the twerp onto her shoulders. "Me too!" She shouted, bouncing up and down and making Rachel squeal and giggle.

Rachel was Nikki's favorite camper, while her stepbrother, Neil, favored the older twin, Marcus.

Max hated all the campers. All of them. Though he hated Shavonni, Bonquisha and Jacob’s little girl there for knitting camp, a lot less. Quite the sass queen. She reminded him of Gwen.

He tried not to think about Gwen but sometimes, she made her way into his mind. He slept in her old bed now, sometimes watched the shows she used to love, read her magazines and looked at the stuff that wasn’t sent back to her family. Sometimes when lying in bed, he swore he could still smell her strawberry orange shampoo and chocolate that she was always eating. He missed her a lot.

Though he'd be damned before he allowed anyone to hear that.

David quickly whipped up a batch of chicken nuggets and served them to the hungry kids.After every kid got a batch of nuggets and he sat down with Max, Neil and Nikki. Neil was reading a science book and Nikki was devouring dinosaur shaped nuggets head first. Max scooted to make room for David, not looking up from his nuggets.

"Everything ok?" David asked, noticing how Max was currently stabbing a poor stegosaurus shaped nugget with his fork. He merely grunted in response.

David noted that but for the sake of him being around his friends, he kept his mouth shut. He just ate in silence.

That night, Neil and Nikki made sure each camper was in bed before heading off to bed in the new second counselor cabin. Max followed his dad to their shared cabin, eyes trained at the floor as they walked.

As soon as they were in the room, David cut to the chase. "What's bothering you?" David asked firmly, crossing his arms.

"It's nothing." Max fibbed, darting away his blue-green eyes to his bed. David cocked a brow and him and slowly relaxed.

"This is about Gwen, isn't it?" David asked calmly. Max's gaze darted up to him in surprise.

"What, n-no!" Max grunted, crossing his arms and whipping his gaze away.

"Max." David stated firmly. Max looked back to dad and saw the look on his face. He knew he wasn't gonna get out of this without giving him the truth.

"Yes." He admitted finally, his arms crossing a bit tighter. David let out a low sigh.

Max backed out immediately. "I know it's stupid." Max rambled, "I shouldn't be dwelling on it-"

"No Max, I understand." David cut him off.

"Huh?" He asked, looking back to him.

"I think about her all the time." David asssured, walking up and resting his hands on Max's shoulders. "It's hard not to when we don't know what happened to her, we have nothing to move on from and we have the constant lingering hope that she's out there somewhere."

Max watched as David's face fell and his expression faded into a deep sadness.

"I want to hope that she's alive and well but I just don't know and frankly Max, I don't think I can go on hoping," David whispered.

"Why do you always act cheery for the campers when it's hurting you so much?" Max asked, a lump in his throat forming.

"It's my job. I have to keep pretending, Max." David replied, giving a sad shrug. "It's not their burden to bear, it's mine."

That seemed to open up the floodgates for Max. Stubborn, hot tears welled up in his eyes and he yanked his dad into a fierce hug, mostly to hide his emotions.

"It's my burden too." Max grunted, screwing his eyes shut as burning tears trailed down his cheeks.

David's hands hovered over Max's back for a second in shock but quickly locked around him.

"Thank you, Max." David whispered into his son's ear. He pretended not to notice Max's shoulders jerk with a quiet sob.

"How about you and I go for a small father-son camping trip tomorrow?" David asked, hoping his voice was a little more chipper. "Leave early and take a little break from all the kids, eh champ?"

Max just nodded with a heavy sigh. "Better than hanging with the little demons here, I guess," Max mumbled.

David looked toward the window, past the reflection of him and Max.

He wondered if she was still out there, Daniel keeping her hostage somewhere, sold her over the border, or possibly buried in a hole somewhere he'd never find her. Wherever she was, he just prayed that she wasn't suffering. That she was safe and sound. Because no matter what, he couldn't stop hoping.

He never would.


	4. Downhill Tumble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s all downhill from here. Ezekiel had never seen things this bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok  
> Major trigger warning:  
> Physical domestic abuse. If you feel uncomfortable about anything about that, I’ll recap in the end notes.

Ezekiel just had to open his big mouth. His mother warned him not to argue with his father. Why didn’t he listen? He just had to talk back to his father.

His father had told him many times about negative energy that plagued mankind before but today, he told him about something called Ascension. The more people someone helped to ascend, the higher the placement they got with the Ancient ones. When he asked how to do that, he didn't like the answer.

His mother always taught him that every life mattered, that he didn't have the right to take the life of another. Feeding them an elixir comprised of a grape drink and arsenic to help them reach their holiest form was something he’d definitely call a taking another’s life.

So he told his father no. He yelled at his father that it was wrong and when his father warned him through clenched teeth to apologize, Ezekiel fiercely refused to.

As expected, his father was very angry. He dragged him by his hair out deeper into the woods, whip in hand. His tied his wrists around a tree so it seemed Ezekiel was hugging it, tearing open the shirt to expose his back.

Over and over, his father struck the leather whip across his back, Ezekiel screaming and wailing for his mother the entire time. With every lash of the whip that burned and tore the skin apart, Daniel yelled at him. He cursed him for failing him as a son and a follower of Zeemug, he bashed him for disobeying his father.

After countless lashes, it was all over. Ezekiel sobbed heavily and clung to the bark of the tree to keep him steady.

Daniel panted from all his effort and his fingers trembled from all the adrenaline.  
He reached down, grabbed his son's puff of hair that seemed to be the fusion of his and Zara's and yanked it back. Ezekiel simpered in mild protest and clenched his teeth.

"Now, what do you have to say for yourself?" His father asked, voice low and dangerously calm.

Ezekiel whimpered and screwed his eyes shut, hot tears streaming along his sweat damp face.

"I'm sorry, father." He mewled out, voice quivering and cracking through the tears.

Daniel grinned a bit and patted his son's face. He went around and cut through the ropes, Ezekiel sliding to the floor against the trunk.

"Now you go to our room and think about what you've done." Daniel ordered, pointing down trail that led home.

Ezekiel scrambled to his shaky feet and tore for home on weak legs, leaving his father behind to cool down.

He didn't stop his stumbling run until he got home. Gwen was finishing up cleaning after lunch when Ezekiel burst inside.

The door swung open with a loud bang, scaring Gwen into dropping the broom with a clatter. Gwen watched in bewilderment as Ezekiel turned and slammed the door shut. When his back faced her, she felt her heart screech to a stop at the sight of her son's torn, bloody back.

There were many stripes along it, the skin peeling away, some in marred chunks to reveal oozing blood and muscle tissues. Whatever skin left untouched by the leather whip was bright red with either irritation or trails of fresh blood.

Her eye twitched and her chest clenched at the familiar fear and anxiety rising up her spine.

No, no, not Ezekiel!

Her fists clenched as Ezekiel broke down into shrieking wails and sobs against the door, holding himself tightly.

Gwen abandoned her spot in the kitchen and ran over to where Ezekiel sat, holding himself and let out a little whimper.

"Ezzi?" Gwen said softly, kneeling to the floor beside him.

Ezekiel twisted around to look his mother in the eyes. Gwen almost broke down in tears at the look in Ezekiel's big blue eyes. He looked just like she did all those years ago.

Broken.

"Mommy..." He whimpered, holding himself as tightly as he could without touching the cuts. “I-I think I did something bad.”

Gwen held her arms out to him and he scrambled into the safety of her embrace. Immediately, he began to cry harder, breaking into raspy wailing.

Gwen curled her fingers into his hair, snuggling him closer under her chin and rested her other hand rested on his leg to pull him into her lap.

"It's ok baby, it's ok." She cooed.

It really wasn't. Daniel may have hit them both but never did he use the whip on his son. That was reserved mostly for her if she stepped too far over certain boundaries, such as talking back after he had warned her not to, countering him when he punished Ezekiel, or defying him.

After everything his father did to him when he was Ezekiel's age, she thought he would've at least held back on their son! Guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

"I don't like it when father gets mad at me, mommy." Ezekiel sniffed, snuggling against her chest.

Gwen looked down at the tear streaked face of her son and felt the pieces of her broken heart break into tinier shards.

She took back what she said. He looked worse than she did all those years ago. This was someone her son adored beating him. She despised Daniel and those beatings just intensified her hatred but Ezekiel adored his father and this act was so alien to him. It was a betrayal he never forsaw. She pressed a kiss to his bleached white hair and did what always calmed him down when he was upset.

"There's a place I know that's tucked away.  
A place where you and I can stay."

He sniffed a little against her chest.

"Where we can go to laugh and play and have adventures everyday."

He whimpered as she sang, listening in.

"I know it sounds hard to believe but guys and gals it's true."

Her voice broke a bit towards the end, her lip quivering as the hot lump in her throughly turned to tears. Ezekiel looked up to her against her chest.

"Camp Campbell is the place for me and you."

He sang for her, his voice worn with tears and sobs.

They sat down like that for a while, holding on to each other and grounding themselves on all that mattered. Each other.

"I'm gonna fix this, baby." Pressing her cheek into his hair, she rocked him gently. "I promise."

She knew promising would be dangerous but she owed it to him. She wasn't going to keep pretending it was ok.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Half an hour passed before Daniel came back, his hands coated in blood. Gwen was waiting for him.

"Hello, honey!" He greeted. He noticed her particularly angry stance.

"Sorry about this, I found a deer and well, it's hunting season!" He explained nonchalantly, raising up his blood soaked hands and looking at them.

 _He’s trying to intimidate you, don’t let him._ Gwen crossed her arms and scowled. "You don't eat big game." She hissed, leaning on her hip to the side.

"Of course I don't but it was the perfect way to release my temper." He replied, heading over to the kitchen to wash his hands.

"Why would you do that to Ezekiel?" Gwen said, trying to keep her tone calm. Best not to rile him up. Yet.

Daniel looked up from scrubbing his hands. "Do what?" He asked innocently.

"You know very well what I'm talking about, Daniel." She pressed. "Daniel, you beat our son!"

Daniel dried his hands off. "I didn't beat him, I just reprimanded him." Daniel assured, holding his arms out.

"Daniel, he looks like you tried to murder him!" Gwen shouted, throwing her hand out in Ezekiel's direction, who was hiding away in their shared room. Daniel tensed up a bit.

"Zara, you are overreacting." Daniel insisted, trying to keep his anger under control.

"You don't understand, you are doing the same thing that your father did to you when you were a kid!" She shouted.

Daniel seethed and twisted his neck, the vertebrae letting out a sickening snap. Daniel stuck her across the face fiercely, Gwen crying out and falling to the floor from the force. She clutched her cheek, the muscle already swelling.

Daniel reached down and grabbed her hair, painfully twisting her up to face him. "Don't you dare bring my father into this." He seethed through clenched teeth.

"It's true but you just can't see it." She hissed lowly. "Or maybe...you just don't want to." He threw her away ferociously, pacing and breathing hard in hissing breaths.

"That's it." Daniel growled, "I'm putting both of you in the purification sauna."

Gwen hobbled to her feet in protest.

"What?!" She shouted. "No, Daniel you can’t!" She tried to brace her hands against his shoulders to stop him but he just kept walking.

“It’s been decided.” Daniel snapped as he pushed by her and made his way towards the hall.

"No, no, I'm not gonna become your puppet again and I'm not going to let you do what you did to me to Ezekiel!" Gwen shouted, getting between Daniel and the entry to the hall way. Daniel looked her over, expression a mix of outrage and very mild curiosity.

"I don't care what you do to me but just leave him alone or I swear to God, I'll make you regret it!" She shouted, holding her arms out to block his path. By the end of it all, Gwen was panting and Daniel was oddly quiet.

He looked her over. Once. Twice. His icy blue gaze darkened.

"You have forgotten your place, Zara." He said. "It is time for a reminder of what happens to those who defy me."

Grabbing her wrists he threw her hard to the floor, Gwen letting out a short scream upon impact. She tried to get up but he pounced on her, pinning her by her neck.

Gwen kicked at him, clawing at any exposed skin with a vengeance. _No, no, NO, NOT AGAIN!_

But she knew it wouldn't work. He was too strong.

"No, Daniel, please, NO!" Gwen shrieked, struggling against the much stronger male. Daniel merely sneered, clutched her throat tighter to stifle her screams. 

  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
Ezekiel sat in the room as he heard his parents argue. He rarely heard them fight and his father always won when they did.

From what it sounded, they were fighting about him. There was a lot of shouting from both of them. Then there was a thud and his mother started screaming. It was shrill and desperate.

His mother told him to stay in the room no matter what but her screaming was just too much. He knew something was wrong. Was his father hitting her again? Was it possible that he was using the whip on her too? He had to know. He cracked the door open and slunk out.

On the floor, his father was crouched over his mother, his mother trying to scramble away. His father locked one hand around her throat and raised his fist over and over before slamming them down, dragging more screams from his mother’s throat. His mother shrieked and shrieked, fighting back with violent kicks and trying to block the blows. She tried to loosen his grip on her neck, clawing at the skin of his father’s arm to no success. He just hit her harder.

Ezekiel's heart rate picked up, his chest heaving at the sight of his father hurting his mother worse than anything he'd ever seen. Part of him was screaming to help his mother, the other half was tugging at him to hide. But he was just stuck. So he took a third option.

And he ran.

He ran out the front door and out into the forest. He broke down the trail, tears streaming down his face as he kept going.

Twisting and turning down the trail, he didn't care where it led. He just kept going.

It was only a matter of time until he burst through the bushes and onto a long stretch of black rock, going for miles. He didn't notice until there was a short screech and something big stopped right beside him.

Turning to his left, he came face to face with his reflection in the grill of a blue car. It looked a lot like the white one his dad owned. Behind it was another car, a black and white one with red and blue lights on top.

The driver of the blue car popped open his car door and stood out. "Hey, buddy are you ok?" The man asked.

If it weren't for the terror he felt right then, he would have been surprised at how much this stranger looked like his dad. They could've been twins if it weren't for the red hair and green eyes.

Out of the passenger side stepped a teen boy with thick, curly black hair, copper skin, and piercing blue green eyes wide in horror.

"He's hurt, " The teen informed his companion, looking towards the redhead man.

The man with red hair and the yellow bandanna just kept his ocean eyes on him in shock.

Out of the black and white car climbed a big, muscled man, skin much darker than his mother's. He wore all blue with a shiny, yellow pin. He had a thick black belt with all kinds of gadgets on it.

"Son, who did this to you?" The brawny man asked in a surprisingly soft voice, kneeling in front of Ezekiel. "Are you ok?"

"Please, my father he's hurting my momma!" Ezekiel begged, "Please, help my momma, he's really hurting her!" The man dressed in blue reached for something on his hip.

"How far is she?" The man demanded, standing up.

"Down the trail!" Ezekiel whimpered. "Please hurry, he's hurting her!"

The man turned to the redhead man. "David, I need help until backup arrives!" He ordered. "Come with me."

The redhead man nodded determinedly and followed the man dressed in blue into the forest. "Max, stay with the kid!" The redhead ordered before disappearing into the bushes.

Ezekiel turned and looked to the copper skinned teen. The teen looked back down to him.

"Kid, what's your name?" The teen asked softly, holding out a hand to him. Ezekiel back away a bit at the gesture.

"Ezekiel." He answered, holding himself a bit.

"My name is Max." The teen introduced himself. "You don't need to be afraid, I'm a friend!"

Ezekiel eyed him cautiously. "You wanna see a card trick my friend taught me?" Max urged. "You can sit in the car, it's nice and cool there."

Ezekiel shook his head rapidly. Max fumbled for another persuasion. He needed to get the kid to trust him. The safer the kid felt, the better the situation would be once his father was removed from the situation.

"You wanna sit in the driver's seat?" He asked, gesturing to the car.

Ezekiel eyed the car behind him. His dad never let him do that. “Front seats are for the grown ups,” he had told him.

"We'll just wait there for the nice officer and David to help your mom." Max assured him.

Ezekiel looked between him and the car, clearly torn between his options. Finally he sighed.

"Ok, but only till they help my momma."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie dokie, for everyone who skipped this chapter.
> 
> Ezekiel talks back to his father when Daniel tells him about ascension and is punished. Gwen decides to stand up to Daniel and y’all know he ain’t gonna take well to that.
> 
> So Ezekiel comes out of the room to see why his mother is screaming, sees his father abusing her and runs away in terror.
> 
> Within the first two minutes he’s almost hit by a car, driven by none other than David and Max. An officer (very specific officer but not the officer from the first episode) is there and takes David to go save the day.
> 
> Max, knowing exactly what our precious little Ezzi is going through, helps distract him from the trouble and makes sure the poor baby feels safe.
> 
> So that’s it. Constructive criticism and comments are appreciated!


	5. I Found You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He found her. Broken. Aching. But she was there and alive. Barely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning  
> •References to abuse.  
> •Also angst. A lot of it.

What was meant to be a carefree father and son trip turned to total chaos.

David was lucky all those years ago the Jacob was off duty or he might be behind bars right now. They set aside their differences years ago and agreed they were both lucky men to have been with Bonquisha. He even invited David to their wedding seven, almost eight years ago.  
Their friendship sure did come in handy this time.

He was very embarrassed at being caught speeding; he didn't mean to at all. How was he supposed to know the speed limit dropped from 80 to 70 that fast?

He almost slammed his face with a groan into the steering wheel when police lights lit up from behind. He quickly pulled over and rubbed his face tiredly. "Way to go, David." Max growled, crossing his arms and leaning against the seat.

David just groaned again.

Out of the rear view mirror, David could see the officer climb out of his car and begin to approach. He took a deep breath and put on his best smile. There was a knock at the window and he rolled the window down.

Boy, was he in for a pleasant surprise.

"No way!" Jacob exclaimed. "David?!"

David smiled a genuine smile at his old friend. "Jacob, how are you?"

Jacob just shrugged. "Doing pretty good!" He replied, "Bon's really excited about enrolling Shavonni into Camp Campbell and to spend some more time with me."

Max rolled his eyes and David laughed and nodded. "And we are really happy to have Shavonni here with us!" David added, "Aren't we, Max?"

Max just shrugged. "She's pretty cool." He said, looking away.

"Alright, I'm going to guess that you didn't realize that you were over the speed limit." Jacob said, glancing at the speedometer.

"I really didn't know." David insisted, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

Jacob just nodded.

"No worries, I believe you!" He said, scratching at his short beard. "I'll just let you of with a warning, just this one time."

David let out a long sigh of relief. "Thanks, pal!" He said brightly.

"Stay safe on the road, bud!" Jacob said. "Give me and Bon a call when you're back in town so we can all meet for dinner."

David gave him a goofy thumbs up.

"You bet!" David said. "Say hi to Bonquisha for us."

Max lazily waved goodbye to Jacob as he headed back to his squad car.

"I thought you were screwed," Max commented as David put the car in drive.

"Makes you appreciate how forgiving he is, right?" David said, starting the car forward.

No sooner had he gone a few feet, he slammed his feet on the break. Smack dab in front of the car and staring at them was a little boy, no older than seven. His white hair stood out starkly against his dark skin and due to the darker roots, David could tell it was unnatural. His big, icy blue eyes were wide in terror and tears flowed freely down his cheeks. The boy had no shirt and from the position, he could see the boy's back was all cut up.

Things just couldn't get any worse could they? Well, they did.

The boy rambled about his mother being in trouble and his dad was hurting her. Jacob acted quickly and got the boy to tell him where his mother was.

With Jacob leading the way, David and him tore through the path that led to a log cabin. The door was open.

"This is Officer Jacob Smith, requesting back up for a potential 932 and requesting a 901." Jacob hissed into his radio.

David swallowed nervously as Jacob pulled out his gun.

"Stay outside, hide and call for help if anything goes wrong." Jacob ordered. "Do not try to engage any suspects unless I tell you to."

David nodded.

"Good luck."

Jacob nodded to him quickly made his way to the open door and peered inside as David watched from a safe distance.

Jacob could see the white interior of a hall way. At the very end of it, crouching over an unmoving woman was the perpetrator. From what he could see the perpetrator was growling something to the woman with a torn white dress.

That son of a -

"Step away from the woman, now!" Jacob shouted. "Step away, right now!"

The man jumped in shock and staggered to his feet. He was dressed in all white, his lemony blonde hair and clothes ruffled.

The man lunged at Jacob with surprising speed and tried to tackle him. Jacob didn't even have time to pull the trigger. The man in white tried to wrestle the gun from Jacob's hands. The cop kneed him in the crotch hard and the perpetrator yowled in pain, shoving him away in retaliation. The man made a break for the door, he barely got his feet outside before Jacob barreled into his back.

The man fell forward from the force and Jacob twisted his arms behind his back, struggling for his handcuffs. "David, help me hold him!" Jacob shouted.

David sprinted to Jacob's side and pinned the struggling man's shoulders with his hands as Jacob fit the cuffs onto the perpetrator's wrists. With a final click, David pulled away to try and get a better look at the criminal. The man lurched his face towards David and they locked gazes.

The whole world seemed to crash around David.

Those icy blue eyes. He thought he'd never see those eyes again. The eyes of someone who stole away his happiness, that crushed his heart when he took the one person that made him feel alive.

Seven years. Seven agonizing, heart wrenching, tear soaked years. And here he was again.

Daniel.

David wanted to kill him. To kick him until he vomited blood and pulpy organs and to stomp on his skull until there was no brain left in there.

Gosh, it'd be so _easy_ too.

"You." David seethed through clench teeth.

"YOU!"

Jacob looked between the still struggling, blonde man and his friend. He had never seen David so angry, even when he bashed him with a chair all those years ago.

David looked like a man thirsty for blood.

"David, calm down and look at me," Jacob reasoned slowly.

David didn't acknowledge him. He just clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. His lips were pulled back in an vicious, purely animal snarl.

"WHERE IS MY GWEN?!" David screamed, reaching down and jerking Daniel's face up by his hair.

Daniel's jaw clenched at the pull and he barely managed to hiss out. "She's not yours, she’s mine. She is _my_ wife."

David pulled his leg back, intent on kicking his face in and shoving his hiking boot into Daniel's brain. Jacob stuck an arm out to block the blow.

As unfortunate as it was, now that the perp was in cuffs, he was supposed to bring him to jail alive. But he needed to calm down his friend. If the other cops found out the usually sunshine camping man had brutally murdered an apprehended perpetrator of domestic violence, then he'd lose custody of Max faster than one could say child protective services.

"David, there's a woman in there." Jacob reasoned. That grabbed David's attention.

"What?" He rasped, "Is she..." He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence without risking breaking down in tears.

Jacob shook his head. "I don't know." He said. "Go in there, check on her vitals, perform CPR if needed, or just assure her that she's OK."

David momentarily glared down at Daniel and Jacob prepared to go for his taser.

"David, please." Jacob pleaded quietly.

David looked to him, back to Daniel, then back to him.

Finally, he turned around and ran into the house.

"Stay away from her!" Daniel shrieked. "Stay way from my Zara!"

Jacob got off the suspect, pulled out his taser, and pulled the trigger. Daniel shrieked and spasmed for a minute or two before Jacob lightened his grip. Once the man was limp in surrender, Jacob pressed a button on his radio.

"I've got the suspect apprehended." He murmured, "We got a possible 217 and a confirmed 261."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When David entered the home, he took a wary look at the home. Eerie white walls of a hall way. At the very end was the shadowed, crumpled form of a person.

 _Please be Gwen, Please be Gwen, please be Gwen,_ he internally prayed, chanting that phrase over and over again as he approached the still figure. Everything seemed like a foggy, slow motion film. Each step bringing him closer with heightening, silent music.

Please be Gwen, was repeated over and over as he finally reached the limp form.

That prayer instantly changed to, _No, please don't let this be Gwen,_ as he came to look at the woman at his feet.

But it was.

She was heavily bruised and clearly in awful shape. A torn, white dress stained with rust colored blood clung loosely to her thin frame. She was sprawled out, lying on her back and face turned toward the side, her now white(?) hair fanning out like a pool of liquid pearls.

Her beautiful face was bruised and swollen at the cheeks, her eye already swelled close with a horrible black and purple bruise. Blood poured from her nose and mouth like a sick crimson, metallic waterfall. Drying blood stained her purple and blue bruised legs and arms, where blows actually split her faded skin.

She looked like an battered angel whose wings were torn from her back by some demon of Hell, like fine chinaware ruthlessly and intentionally thrown down.

Completely and utterly shattered.

David's throat burned with a choked sob and hot tears spilled down his cheeks.

"Gwen, oh God no." He whimpered as he knelt beside her.

Gathering her battered form in his arms, he touched her still, bruised face.

"No, oh God no, not Gwen!" He sobbed out, looking towards the heavens above. "NO, NOT GWEN, PLEASE NOT GWEN!"

No matter how much he pleaded to the heavens, there was no changing that fact that broken woman in his arms was his lost friend.

His lost love.

He slumped down in despair, holding her tightly against him. His hope was gone. He had his answer to where she was. She suffered heavily at Daniel’s hand and now she was...gone. He pulled her tighter against him and pressed a final, goodbye kiss to her forehead.

Gwen stirred in his arms, whimpering in protest. David snapped to attention and sat up a bit straighter, looking down on her.

Well, perhaps she wasn’t gone after all.

"Gwen, Gwen it's me!" He whispered urgently.

Gwen merely struggled more, weakly, unsuccessfully trying to pushing his arms away. She mumbled something as she squirmed in his arms. He leaned down and tilted his ear inches from her lips to listen.

"No more...please...no more." She breathed quietly, breaking off into a little whimper.

David felt his heart break all over again.

"He's not going to hurt you, never again." David soothed. "I'm never letting Daniel hurt you again."

Her face mildly contorted in confusion. Her eyes cracked open a bit and she looked at his face, her amethyst eyes dull and and unfocused.

"D-David?" She murmured and her eyes became clearer.

David's heart skipped a beat.

"Yes, Gwen, I'm here now!" He whispered, his reassuring, goofy smile creeping onto his face.

Gwen's face crumpled a bit and thousands of different emotions played in her widened dead eyes. Shock, confusion, bewilderment, fear, something along the lines of relief and...disbelief. Overwhelmed and in agony, her body spasmed a bit and she went lax, eyes sliding shut.

"Gwen? Gwen?!" David cried, giving her a light shake. He set her on the floor and ran into one of the bed rooms. He couldn't bring her outside, almost exposed. That would be wrong.

As he entered the room, his skin crawled. It looked like something in a satanist temple, pentagram rugs and candles. Pushing aside his discomfort, he tore the white sheets off the smaller of the two beds in the room and ran back out to Gwen. Gently laying the sheet across her form, David lifted her back into his arms and carried her outside.

He could already hear the sirens wailing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The next hour was total chaos. David forced himself to let go of Gwen and let the paramedics load her onto the stretcher.

He watched as they put Daniel in the back of the police car. "No, Zara, no! Give me back my Zara!" He screamed as he thrashed against Jacob and Officer Earl.

He tried to stagger away towards the crying boy, a desperate and pathetic attempt to gain his abused son's sympathy.

"Ezekiel, help me! Help your father, please! Don't let them split us up!" He screamed and struggled in the officers’ grasp as he tried to get to Gwen and to the crying boy.

The little boy just stood there beside Max and sobbed, clearly torn between running away or running to Daniel. Max kept his hands firmly on the child’s shoulders to keep him still, cautious not to touch the still bleeding cuts. As Daniel was shoved into the squad car, the young child turned to hug Max’s leg and wailed into the teen’s pant leg. Max just ran a comforting hand through the boy’s white hair.

As David looked at the weeping boy, he felt an unnatural wave of sickly disgust and anger flood his chest. That child was Daniel's son. A child that he forced Gwen to bear with him. He even had those cold, ghostly eyes of Daniel's.

 _Don't be ridiculous, he's just a little boy,_ David reprimanded himself.

But he couldn't shake the cold, angry feeling as he stared at the child. The child whose father cost him everything.

As the squad car drove off and Gwen was being loaded into the ambulance, Ezekiel finally broke out of his state and ran towards his mother. He hoisted himself up on the side of the stretcher and tugged at Gwen's limp hand.

"Momma, momma wake up!" Ezekiel begged. "Mommy, please!"

He wailed as she didn't respond, shaking her arm and and screaming for her. He tried to climb up into the stretcher, fumbling and shaking it.

One of the paramedics tried to pull him away and he immediately began to screech at the top of his lungs.

"NO, DON'T TAKE MY MOMMY!" He shrieked, clawing at the paramedic's hands and reaching for his mother. "DON'T TAKE MY MOMMY, SHE'S ALL I HAVE!"

The paramedic just harshly picked up Ezekiel and tried to drag him away.

Max intervened right there.

"Hey, there's space in that ambulance!" Max shouted, roughly pushing the paramedic away from Ezekiel.

"I'm sorry but this woman is a priority and we can't have any distractions." The paramedic argued.

"Let the kid ride with his mom, he's scared and obviously hurt too!" He snarled, gesturing to Ezekiel's bloody back. It truly was a gruesome sight.

The paramedic grit his teeth in agitation but finally caved, hoisting up the boy and setting him on the stretcher beside his unconscious mother.

"Max's coming too!" Ezekiel insisted, gesturing for him to follow as the paramedics began to push them away. "Please come with me!" He begged, reaching out for Max.

Max started towards Ezekiel but the same paramedic got between them.

"I'm sorry sir but that's not possible." The paramedic said, slightly smug. "Only direct family is allowed." Max looked back towards Ezekiel. The boy's big, shining blue eyes were filled with tears as he curled into his unconscious mother's side, whimpering for her to wake up.

"Listen here, I'm going and you can't stop me." Max hissed, clenching his fists. He looked about ready to give it straight to the paramedic right between the eyes.

David started toward Max but Jacob cut in first.

"Actually, this boy is a certified junior counselor and has earned the boy's trust." Jacob reasoned, putting a firm hand to the paramedic's shoulder. "It may be in your best interest if you allow Maxwell Greenwood to accompany you."

The paramedic began to stumble out an argument.

"In fact, I insist that you take him with you." Jacob said, squeezing the paramedic's shoulder to emphasize the point. "Please."

No arguing with an officer.

The paramedic sneered and waved a hand towards the ambulance. Max immediately climbed on board and sat beside the stretcher, taking Ezekiel's hand.

"It's gonna be ok, kid." Max assured.

"I'll follow behind!" David called, waving goodbye to Max as the doors were shut. The sirens turned on and they were on their way.

As Max looked down on Gwen's bruised, bloody face, the entire gravity of the situation really hit him.

She was alive.

Seven long years of wondering if she was ok or if she was pushing up daisies was finally answered. And it made him want to scream.  
He felt like hoping out of the ambulance, taking Jacob's gun and blowing out Daniel's brains and pumping his guts full of lead.

That monster did all this to her. He hurt her, forced her, hurt his own son.

It was all too familiar for him.

He gave Ezekiel's tiny hand a squeeze. "It'll be alright." He murmured as they both watched over Gwen. "I'll never let him hurt you again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I’m going to lie down and cry a bit but it gets better.  
> Comments are appreciated!


	6. Piecing it Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen wakes up and the pieces new events together, seeing a new face for the first time in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No major trigger warnings.
> 
> Just mild references to abuse and some injury.

There was no way. No way in heaven or hell that David was there. Just a trick of the mind from blunt force trauma. Just a stupid dream from before Ezekiel was born resurfacing years later. She knew when she opened her eyes, she'd still be in Daniel's home, all bandaged up with Daniel's sick excuses for his sick actions.

So she kept her eyes closed. _Just keep pretending like you always do. He'll leave you alone. Pretending keeps you alive._

Minutes passed, probably hours and Daniel's voice was never heard. Nothing but a steady, rhythmic beep.

She cracked an eye open and saw white walls. But it wasn't the familiar, pentagram decorated walls she knew. It was plain, a picture of a happy little tree hanging from one side.

The bed wasn't hers either. It was a hospital bed. If there's a hospital bed, there's likely to be a hospital room and if there’s a hospital room, then your in a hospital. Common knowledge.

There was a curtain pulled back to her right and snuggled up in blankets on a separate hospital bed was Ezekiel, fast asleep.

She attempted to sit up and get to him but as soon as she shifted, the jolt of pain seemed to knock the air out of her. Her head throbbed for a minute and her body ached. From her right, Ezekiel stirred a bit in his sleep but relaxed with a little sigh.

There was a small shift of weight at the end of her bed and Gwen looked down. Laying his head in is arms as he slept was none other than David.

Well, dammit.

His red hair was ruffled, sticking up in different directions. His light skin was so pale, his freckles standing out starkly. There were dark bags under his eyes, indicating that this was the first time he's slept in a while. How long? No idea and she couldn’t really care.

But he was here.

Seven years.

After seven years, he was here. After all the beatings, all the suffering she had to endure because of his blonde look alike, he was her. After that message that shattered her to jagged pieces, he finally decided to showed up.

Thanks a lot, David. Thanks a whole damn lot.

He shifted in his sleep and Gwen went rigid when he lifted his head. He looked around with sleepy eyes, rubbing his face. When he looked at her, the dreamy fog in his eyes cleared away and he was at attention.

"Gwen, you're awake!" David cheered, jumping forward to envelop her in a tight hug.

Immediately, her hands braced against his chest and he stumbled back a bit from the force. Gwen looked down at her hands and then to David. David looked like he was a puppy who just got kicked, big sea green eyes wide in hurt and surprise.

"Sorry," Gwen mumbled. "It's an instinct."

She wasn't that sorry. David's gaze fell.

"I-I understand." David said gently. "I know you've been through a lot, more than I've been told."

Gwen looked away, expression hardening into a glare.

"Yeah, you sure do," She mumbled.

They were dead silent for the next few moments.

Gwen just kept her eyes trained on the little rise and fall of Ezekiel's back as he slept, letting out a little whistling snore that she loved so much.

"How long was I out?" Gwen asked.

"Three days." David responded solemnly.

Gwen’s jaw dropped at that a bit. _Damn,_ _I must’ve worried Ezekiel out of his mind,_ she mumbled internally.

"Who's been taking care of Ezekiel?" Gwen asked, just looking at her boy to avoid locking gazes with David.

David tried to ignore the angry twist in his stomach at the mention of the name. "The nurses mainly," David said, rubbing his arm. "Max helped the first day."

Gwen quickly turned to look at him in complete surprise. "Max?!" She asked, louder than she meant.

David jumped a bit but grinned.

"Yeah, he's my son now." David said brightly.

Gwen sputtered in shock. "Excuse me?!" She cried out. "You're kidding!"

David chuckled a bit at her reaction.

"Nope, I adopted him six years ago, he’s been helping me manage Camp Campbell." David beamed. "He was with me when we found you and took care of Ezekiel."

Gwen looked down at her hands. She had been gone for so long... What did Max even look like now. "You adopted him?" She sighed wearily. "What have you done?"

David laughed that hearty laugh that plagued her dreams when she found herself missing him during her first few years of living with Daniel.

"Made the best decision ever?" He said proudly.

After his laughter died away, his expression softened. She went back to staring at Ezekiel.

"So he's your and..." David began to say, his words failing him.

"Yes, he's Daniel's and my son." Gwen said, voice firm and quick.

David flinched back a bit. That tone was all too familiar. He struck a nerve and she put up her walls. Like when he asked about her parents and she shot that question down with a rocky, "don't ask."

"He's the only reason why I'm alive right now." She commented coldly.

David went rigid at that, shoulders tensing up and his face going white.

"What do you mea-"

"Ezekiel?" Gwen called, cutting him off quickly.

Ezekiel shifted at her voice and slowly sat up, rubbing his sleepy eyes. As soon as he saw her, he leapt out of bed.

"Mommy!" He cried, jumping into her bed and throwing his skinny arms around her neck.

"Hi, baby." She murmured, kissing the spot behind his ear.

"Mommy, I missed you so much!" Ezekiel whimpered into her shoulder, big, watery tears falling down his cheek. "I was so worried about you!"

Gwen's eyes brimmed with hot tears and she pecked little kisses into his bleached hair.

"I'm so sorry, Ezzi." Gwen murmured. "Are you ok?"

Ezekiel nodded against her shoulder.

"I'm better now." He said, sitting back on her lap. "The really nice doctors fixed me up and said you were gonna be ok."

Gwen sighed in relief.

"What else did they say about me?" She asked, gnawing on her bottom lip nervously.

Ezekiel looked up to the ceiling in thought. "They said you had lots of bumps and a con-cushion." He said. "Whatever that means."

Gwen could've chuckled if it weren't for the severity of it all.

"It's pronounced concussion, sweetie." She said, ruffling his hair.

"Oh, is that a bad?" He asked, looking her over to check if there was anything visibly off.

"Not that bad anymore, my head feels better." She said calmly. “You don't need to worry."

Ezekiel glanced over her for a minute more and smiled.

"Ok, momma!" He said, snuggling back up against her chest. She gave him a tight squeeze and gently pulled away.

"I have to talk to Mr. David alone," She said gently. "Can you wait outside?"

Ezekiel's gaze flickered nervously and he switched his gaze between them. "I'm not going anywhere, Ezzi." She assured him. "I promise."

Ezzi nodded tentatively and slid off the bed. Casting a little glance at David, he left the room and closed the door.

Now alone with him, Gwen shifted uncomfortably. But she needed help, she had to .

"I'm not going back to that house," Gwen mumbled. "But I don't have anywhere to go. My apartment is most likely gone, I have no money for even a bad hotel, and I'm not moving back in with my parents, especially since Ezekiel's involved."

She carded her fingers through her tangled, bleached hair and began to hyperventilate as stress flooded her chest, the muscles clenching painfully. Beside her, the beep of the heart monitor began to pick up speed rapidly.

"Oh God, what am I gonna do?!" Gwen whimpered. "Child protective services are going to take him away from me if I can't find somewhere to live!"

She could already see the CPA hauling Ezekiel away in a car as he screamed for her, officers holding her back as she wept and desperately tried to get her baby back. _Hell no._

David tried to reach out to her as she curled up, knees to her chest and she gripped her hair. She flinched away sharply.

"I can't lose Ezekiel, I can't; He’s all I have now, I need him with me!" She shouted, anxious tears nearly spilling over. "I'll kill myself if they take him! I'll- I'll-"

David reached out and gripped Gwen's hands tightly between his own. "Gwen, hey it's ok." David assured. "There is a way for you to keep him safely with you. You don't have to go to the extreme."

Gwen snapped her gaze back up to him.

"There is?" Gwen asked, her heart monitor slowing down a tad but still too elevated.

David nodded, giving her hands a squeeze.

"I'm not going to let them take someone who means that much to you." David assured, gently rubbing her hands.

Gwen shuddered a bit at the contact but didn't pull away. She wasn’t too keen on accepting help, especially from him... but she was desperate to keep Ezekiel with her. She'd do anything for him.

_God, give me strength._

"What do I need to do?" She asked hesitantly.

David grinned that sunshine grin and her stomach did an unusual flip in her gut. "How would you like a job at Camp Campbell?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet some are wondering how I keep up frequent updates. Truth is I write the entire story before I post anything.
> 
> Next chapter, Gwen gets a job and she reunites with someone who surprisingly missed her.


	7. Together again, again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen is back on Camp Campbell grounds and reunites with another old friend, surprising since that is not what she would she would call him seven years ago.
> 
> Meanwhile. Ezekiel must prepare for a new life and makes a possible new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings. Just fluff and feels

Two weeks later....

Ezekiel excitedly watched the trees pass in the car, pressing his nose up against the glass.

"Mr. David, does the forest go on forever?!" Ezekiel asked, glancing back over to the man driving before returning his attention to the view.

David swallowed back the jolt of uneasiness in his stomach and put on a smile.

"Nope, unfortunately." David responded, looking at the boy through the rear view mirror. "There's a lot more out there than just the forest!"

Ezekiel's jaws dropped. "There is?!" He squealed. "Like what?"

Gwen smiled from the passenger seat. "There are cities, mountain ranges, oceans, deserts, plains, the arctic, and a lot more." She listed. "I'll show you a geography book when we get there."

Ezekiel kicked his legs excitedly, practically vibrating in his seat. "I'm so excited, momma!" He giggled.

Gwen smiled and looked back at him. "I can tell." She joked. "You look like your about to spontaneously combust."

Ezekiel merely beamed brighter and Gwen's heart melted a little. He looked so cute when he smiled like that. He got it from his momma after all.

"Mr. David, how much longer?" He asked, leaning forward.

"Just around the corner." David replied.

They turned in and Ezekiel read the sign as it passed overhead. Camp Campbell, only the “bell” was so faded out, it looked more like it said Camp Camp.

"Now Ezekiel, because you are going to be a part of the camp while I'm working, I'm going to need you on your best behavior." Gwen said as they parked. "Remember what I taught you?"

Ezekiel sighed. "Treat others with respect and always be understanding because you don't know what they're going through." He recited.

"And?" Gwen drawled.

"Kick their butt if they're just being mean for fun." Ezekiel added.

"Good job, squirt." Gwen said, popping open the car door. "Let's get started."

Ezekiel hopped out when his mom opened the door for him. David locked the car and strode up to meet the pair.

"Alright Ezzi!" David started, "Can I call you Ezzi?"

Ezekiel just shrugged. "It doesn't matter." He stated.

"Well, I'm going introduce you to some of our junior counselors at the mess hall while your mother heads over to the counselor cabin to finish signing some papers." David explained. "You're gonna love it here!"

Ezekiel darted his gaze nervously over to Gwen.

"It'll be fine, bugger." Gwen pressed, ruffling his hair, "Be good."

Ezekiel nodded and watched as his mom headed off to a cabin further away.

David tried to shove aside the nauseous feeling of uneasiness when Ezekiel turned his icy eyes on him. _He is Gwen's son too, you dummy,_ he berated himself.

"Are the others nice?" Ezekiel asked, glancing over at the big building. David put on his best smile and began to walk toward it.

"Of course, they are all so nice!" David assured.

Ezekiel smiled and raised his hand, gently grasping at David's much larger hand as they walked. As if poked with molten metal, David gave a little eep and recoiled sharply at the boy's touch. When he realized how harshly he reacted, he looked down at Ezekiel with wide, hesitant eyes. 

The boy's chilling blue eyes were wide in shock and hurt, slowly dropping his hand to his side.

"I-I'm sorry." Ezekiel murmured, holding his hands together.

"No, no it's okay you just startled me!" David insisted. He reached down and took Ezekiel's tiny hand on his.

"See, it's alright." Ezekiel looked down out his hand engulfed in the larger man's hand and smiled a little, just a bit more tentatively.

"Ok, Mr. David!" He said, his enthusiasm returning.

Uneasiness still flipped a bit in David's gut but it was a little less fierce. _He's just a kid_ , he reminded himself.

"Alright, you know Max already so I'm going to introduce you to his fellow junior co-counselors, Nikki and Neil and all of the wonderful campers we’ve got here!" David explained. With one hand he opened the door and let Ezekiel in.

It was total chaos inside.

Kids his age shouting and running around, one girl with orange hair clinging to the shoulders of a tall lady with mint green hair, both screaming excitedly.

A tall young man with poofy brown hair, taller than the green haired lady kept screaming at them to stop and about how it wasn't safe with a boy look alike of the orange haired girl by his side. 

In the corner, sitting beside a dark skinned girl and knitting was Max.

"Max!" Ezekiel called, waving frantically at him. Max jumped a bit but returned the gesture with a tiny smile when he saw Ezekiel.

Ezekiel pulled away from David's hand and wove between the other kids to meet up with Max. As soon as he reached him, Ezekiel leapt into his arms.

"I missed you." He said, snuggling his cheek into Max's shirt.

"Yeah, you too." Max grunted, trying to act like it wasn't a big deal.

Kinda hard though because he was so impossibly cute! Must've got it from Gwen's side of the family. _Somewhere_ in there.

"Where's your mom?" Max asked, setting him down a bit.

"She's in one of the cabins signing papers." Ezekiel answered, tilting his head back in her direction.

Max stood up quickly and set aside the knitting needles. "I'll be back." He excused himself. "Chill with Shavonni for a little while, ok?"

Ezekiel looked over to the girl and gave her a nervous wave. "Hi?" He said.

She just looked at him with vibrant yellow eyes, plump lips turned in a mild frown. She was a big girl for her age, towering over him even when seated. She had thick, curly black hair pulled into twin pigtails that resembled pom poms.

"You the kid Max was talking about?" She asked, standing up. She was a full head taller than him so he had to look up at her.

"Umm, I guess?" He said nervously, shifting in his spot. She looked him over and put out her hand.

"Name's Shavonni." She said. Glancing down at her hand, he gently shook it.

"I'm Ezekiel." He replied, giving her a smile.

"Alright everyone!" David called. "I got an announcement to make!" All the kids turned their attention to David, momentarily stopping what they were doing.

"I wanted to welcome Ezekiel Mas- I mean Sanchez to our camp!" David announced. "Be sure to be extra nice to our new camper while I sign up a new counselor who will be joining us today as well, does everyone understand?"

The kids all nodded. "Yes, David!" They all said in unison.

"Alright, Campe Diem!" He called as he left the room with a camp salute. Some kids returned the salute, others just stared at Ezekiel.

"So..." Shavonni said slowly, pulling Ezekiel's attention from the other kids. "You know how to knit?"

He glanced at the strange tools behind her. None of them seemed vaguely familiar. "Nope." He responded.

She turned around and sat on the bench, patting the spot next to her. "C'mon runt, I'll teach you." She said, taking up the knitting needles.

Ezekiel smiled and sat beside her. "Sure why not."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Max kept running until he reached the cabin door. Stopping in front, he found himself hesitating.

Did she hate him after all these years? He had been such an jerk when he was ten, he took every chance to make her miserable. After she found out about his garbage parents, she showed him a different, kinder side of her. For sometime, he wished she was his mom.

And Daniel took her away from him.

He saw it all happen and watched as years passed and the police never found her. David actually considered going out to find her himself but the jail time for Vigilante justice scared him out of it. If he had jail time then he'd never be able to adopt Max. Yet he felt responsible for what happened. He saw him take her and he couldn't do anything about it.

Did she know about it? He prayed she didn't hate him.

With a deep breath, he opened the door and there she was. Her hair was a faded white, her original dark red hair peeking out at the roots and through the strands, pulled back in her signature ponytail. She was wearing the camp uniform and for a second, everything seemed to be the same as before.

She turned and looked to him with the saddest violet eyes he had ever seen. She had faded traces of bruises on her cheeks and under her right eye. Her eyes widened at the sight of him, jaw dropping just a bit.

"Max?" She whispered, voice worn.

Max slowly walked over until they were standing toe to toe. She was still taller than him.

"Yeah." He mumbled, looking up at her. For a while, neither him nor Gwen said anything.

Gently, tentatively, Gwen's hand lifted and came to rest against his cheek. Her thumb drew little circles on his skin, as if trying to make sure he was real. Tears slowly brimmed her eyes as she took in the sight of him.

"Look how big you are." She whispered, lip quivering as tears escaped her eyes.

"Dammit, now I'm crying." Max grumbled as tears began to trail their way down his cheeks.

Gwen quickly pulled him to her in a soft embrace, successfully obliterating any dignity he had left. Nevertheless, he locked his arms around her waist tightly, burying his face into the crook of her shoulder.

Neither said anything. What was there to say? There were many questions, but that could wait. Now was a time for grounding themselves in the present.  
How much time has passed, neither knew. Minutes, maybe hours, possibly days.

They didn't care, he finally had his mom back.

Eventually, Max pulled away and furiously wiped his eyes.

"So you finally decided to come back?" He mumbled. Gwen chuckled.

"I know, right?" She said, welcoming him back into her arms.

David entered the room with a couple files and a pen in hand. Upon seeing the little reunion, he teared up with happy tears and a silent squeal of joy. Quiet as possible, he inched back out the door and silently closed it. They had a lot of catching up to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> nothing but feels and fluff today!
> 
> What did you all think. Next chapter: Ezekiel bonds with Shavonni and David tries to bond with a reluctant Gwen.


	8. Adapt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezekiel learns to adjust to his new life with a bit of trouble but learns he has a tough ally by his side.
> 
> Meanwhile, Gwen is still keeping David an arms length away as old feelings bubble up in her co-counselor. Luckily, Max has an idea to help fix relations between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings apply, just kids being mean and justice is swift and named Shavonni.

The first week was not easy, full of uneasy nights and awkward days.

Ezekiel would have much rather slept by his mother out of the safety of habit. At least the tent bed was a kinda cozy. 

Besides, the rule was that counselors were to sleep separately from campers. He was not to receive any special treatment. His mother, frankly, didn't care and special treatment was what he got.

She made sure he got extra food or breaks from activities that he wasn’t interested in. She said something about “Campbell can’t tell me what to do now. To Hell with him and his stupid rules.”

He sat beside her during breakfast, Gwen pressing a kiss to his hair. He still had a hard time believing his mother's real name was Gwen and not Zara. He had even more difficulty with his new last name.

Sanchez. Saaaanchez. Saaaancheezzzz.

It rolled of his tongue like water. He liked it but the only last name he ever had was Mason. It was all he knew and even that was changing. He wasn’t quite sure if it was all good change.

"Did you get enough to eat?" Gwen asked, jogging him from his thoughts as she took a sip of a drink in her mug. Ezekiel nodded and glanced at the one eyed man with the hook who served the eggs and bacon. That guy was super creepy.

Gwen nodded, playing with his hair as he ate. She had been on a high note since she left the hospital and finally seeing Max again and being completely free from Daniel had just boosted her good mood.

She had gotten word from Jacob that Daniel was already being held in prison and trials were after summer. Till then, she and Ezekiel had no worries. Hell, Ezekiel hadn’t even asked any questions about Daniel, which was fine by her. No worries indeed.

Well, Gwen had no worries. Ezekiel's worries were all on making friends. It was a Saturday so it was a free day for all of them. Shavonni was out and about knitting and he didn't want to bother her. She looked so peaceful and he wouldn't want to disturb her from her concentration.

He didn't talk much with the other boys or girls. They didn’t talk to him much either but he didn’t mind. He'd rather read books about the places of the world. It was all so interesting. A whole world he had yet to see. He currently had his nose buried in a book about the ancient civilization of Rome.

"Hey, worm face!"

Ezekiel grit his teeth in annoyance as a shadow cast over him and crude words were shouted. Georgie stood over him, punching his fist into his palm semi-threateningly with Alfred, his only friend and surprisingly, Marcus behind him. Ezekiel got paired up with Marcus as tent mates, though neither had spoken to each other yet.

Georgie was there for Martial Arts camp. He was a big kid, bigger than Shavonni with shaven, black hair. From what Ezekiel overheard, he was the coolest kid. Whatever that meant. It seemed to mean people liked you. Or feared you and in the case of Georgie, it seemed to be both.

Alfred was sleazy and lean, using Georgie's status as a way to earn respect. Ezekiel guessed the boy had low self esteem or a bad home life. Right now however, he wasn't in a compassionate mood.

"What do you want?" Ezekiel grunted, looking up from his book about Rome.

"You're a momma's boy!" Georgie chortled, Marcus and Alfred laughing along with him.

"Is that supposed to be an insult?" Ezekiel asked, cocking a brow at the larger boy.

"Yeah it is, fart face!" Georgie laughed, pointing at him. As if on cue, Marcus and Alfred laughed again.

"Your attempts of verbal abuse are flawed and ineffective." Ezekiel stated calmly. "As is your intellectual abilities as you possibly do not understand anything I say to you now."

Marcus gasped a little while Georgie and Alfred just looked at him in confusion.

"Nerd, translate!" Georgie demanded, raising a fist to Marcus. Marcus flinched and nodded. "He said you're an idiot." Marcus explained.

"That's not what I-OOF" Ezekiel shouted before he was punched in the gut. He flopped down into the dirt, clutching his stomach and groaning in pain.

"Ha ha, loser brain!" Georgie chortled, crossing his arms proudly.

"Alright, my mom told me about this kid a lot like you," Ezekiel groaned.

"Cool and handsome?" The bully asked, flexing his not very impressive muscles.

"He had a lot of problems and tried to take out his anger on others," Ezekiel explained nervously. "But he was lonely and sad on the inside, so maybe all you need is a real, understanding friend?"

Georgie looked down at his feet in confusion. "Really?" He asked softly.

"Yeah!" Ezekiel exclaimed, bright and relieved.

Georgie held out his hand to help Ezekiel up. As soon as Ezekiel was on his two feet, he gave Georgie a grin.

Immediately he was shoved to the floor again.

"Ha, I'm not mean to cover up some complex, I just think it's funny!" Georgie snorted.

Leaning down, he hoisted Ezekiel off his feet by his shirt collar.

Ezekiel tried to wrestle the larger boy's fist off but to no avail and flinched as Georgie pulled his free hand back into a fist. All this was too familiar. For just a minute, he mistook Georgie's hazel eyes for blue.

Suddenly, he wasn't in Georgie's grasp and was on the floor instead. Georgie landed a few feet away, clutching his swollen cheek with a scream. Shavonni stepped on the large boy's chest and pinned him to the floor.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, you six piece chicken McNobody?!" She shouted.

"I-I-" Georgie stammered, clearly terrified.

Marcus and Alfred began to back up from the angry girl.

"Stay put, yah dumpster diving mange covered rats!" She snapped, without even looking up from Georgie.

For fear of punishment for disobeying her, the two stayed where they were.

"Listen here, you better leave him alone or else I'll kick your sorry, underdeveloped side character butt all the way to Timbuktu!" She hollered, digging her heel into Georgie's chest. "You got it?!"

Georgie's lip quivered, sniveling a bit and he gave a little nod.

"Good," Shavonni hissed, raising her foot. "Get out of here."

Immediately, Georgie ran away blubbering like an infant. Alfred nervously sized Shavonni up and down when she turned on him. She pushed him back, the boy stumbling a few feet.

"That goes for you too!" She hissed to Alfred. "Don't mess around with him or I'll knock your teeth straight because there's no where else to go for your stupid, crooked teeth."

Alfred suddenly bawled out, nose running.

"No, that's the thing I'm sensitive about!" He wailed, running off after Georgie.

Marcus flinched as Shavonni's piercing gaze swiveled to him. "I thought you knew better, after everything those two do to you!" She shouted. "Get out of here before I wedgie your stupid, pancake lookin' butt to the flagpole!"

Marcus fled without another word and before she could go through with her threat.

Ezekiel watched in amazement as the boys fled. Three of them taken on by Shavonni alone. She turned to him and held out her hand for him to take. He flushed a bit as her skin brushed against his and she hoisted him to his feet.

"Listen up, if they bother you again, you let me know." She ordered firmly.

"Why would you help me?" Ezekiel asked. "it wasn't your problem."

Shavonni tensed up and Ezekiel could've sworn there was a flush of color in her cheeks. "It's just because I felt bad for you!" She insisted, turning her gaze away sharply.

She reached over and grabbed Ezekiel's hand tightly to drag him along behind her. A blush crept across his cheeks as she hauled him behind her.

"C'mon. I'm gonna teach you some new stitches," Shavonni grumbled.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  
David couldn't hold back his dreamy smile as he watched Gwen dry her hair. Using some home remedies, she was able to completely strip away the fading white hair dye.

It was a beautiful sight, her damp, red-brown hair cascading in beautiful waves down to her shoulders. He felt the desire to run his fingers through her familiar locks.

Gwen felt his gaze on her the whole time. It was _suffocating_. It was getting harder to pretend everything is ok between her and David. She wanted things to be perfect for her and Ezekiel but when David acted like everything was fine and dandy, she boiled with rage.

He acted like he didn't confess all that hatred he held for her to Daniel. Acted like everything was ok after he abandoned her to a murderer. She was grateful to him for giving her a place to stay but there was no way in heaven or hell that she'd forget what he did.

As soon as her hair was less damp than before, she quickly pulled her hair in a ponytail and made her way to the door.

"Hey Gwen!" David called. Gwen's anxiety burst through the roof and flew to the heavens.

"What?" She grunted. David stood up from his seat and nervously made his way over to her, wringing his hands restlessly.

"I- I was wondering if we can go into town to...hang out for a little while, maybe grab something to eat?" David asked hesitantly.

Gwen tensed up, hand gripping the door knob tightly. "No, I don't think so." She said, all too sudden and fierce. She was prepared for that wide eyed look of hurt and disappointment he often gave but she wasn't prepared for the jolt of guilt that ran through her gut. David chewed his bottom lip anxiously at her quick snap but put on a pathetically cu- a pathetic brave face. Yeah, pathetic.

"It's alright, I understand!" David assured, giving her a small dismissive wave of his hand. "Maybe later?" Gwen furrowed her brow and looked away.

"Ezekiel's calling me." Gwen muttered, leaving quickly. David walked after her, hand held out after her. Yet his words faltered and she was already across the field.

His hand fell to his side as he looked to his feet in defeat.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why would you ask her that, after all she's been through?!_ He mentally berated himself, until Max's voice poked up.

"Man, that sucks." Max commented, jamming his hands in his pockets. "Max, what have we talked about eavesdropping?!" David scolded. Max shrugged.

"I know, I know." He grunted. “But I was already over here and you guys were busy so I waited until you were done.” David pinched the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh.

“Georgie got his ass beat today.” Max commented. David looked at Max in shock.

“He did?” David gasped. The boy may be a big jerk (pardon his harsh phrasing) and he may have had it coming (pardon him again) but as a counselor, he was supposed to keep all conflict to a minimum.

“What happened?” David groaned.

“He, Alfred and Marcus were making fun of Ezekiel.” Max replied.

David went pale. _Oh no._

“And Ezekiel attacked them?!” David cried out in alarm. “Are they ok?!”

Max put his hands up in surprise, eyes wide.

“Whoa, whoa, hold on!” Max said. “Ezekiel didn’t hurt them, he didn’t even fight back, it was Shavonni.”

David let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God!” He said.

Max narrowed his eyes a bit. He did not like it all.

“They were picking on him and Shavonni defended him.” Max grunted. “I already talked to Shavonni about it and Georgie doesn’t get desert for the next week because of his bullying.”

David gave Max a little, shaky thumbs up.

“Good call there!” He congratulated, already starting to inch away.

“David.” Max growled sternly. David froze up and halted his escape.

“Ezekiel is not Daniel.” Max said coldly, piercing eyes narrowed in a glare. “The actions of the father do not define the son.”

David’s gaze softened and his hands fell to his side.

“Yes, you’re right.” David mumbled shamefully. 

“I know I’m right.” Max grunted, jamming his hands in his pockets. “On that note, I have an idea to help you get on better terms with Gwen.”

David perked up a bit. “You do? He asked, hope noting in his voice. There may be hope yet for the hopeless romantic!

“In order to do that, I need your permission for next Saturday.” Max said, crossing his arms.

“What do you mean?” David asked, a bit of apprehension peeking through his voice.

“I can’t take a kid off grounds without permission from a senior counselor.” Max said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did y’all think? Comments are appreciated!


	9. It Ain’t Easy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max sets his plan in motion to better Gwen and David’s relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor warning of mentioned abuse, minor violence and angst.
> 
> Lots of it.

Change is difficult. Difficulty with a capital D described the entire week.

Gwen had washed Ezekiel hair with a weird smelling shampoo that washed away all the fading white in his hair. He never knew what his natural hair color looked like, his father had always put that white, bad smelling hair dye in it to “keep away the imperfections.” It was now a rusty, burnt maroon color, like his mom’s. Occasionally he’d find himself just staring at his hair in the reflection or tugging on it. But all that was only physical.

Georgie largely left him alone, which was the best part. Being left alone by the whole camp was the worst. Shavonni still played with him but occasionally, she’d like to be on her own.

That’s when the other campers acted strange.

They would run away from him, others would blatantly ignore him. Some would whisper and point as he walked past. At first it didn’t bother him that much, until the accusations and questions came.

“Are you gonna sacrifice us?!”

“What’s it like having a cultist for a dad?”

“Did you ever kill anyone?”

“Are you a cultist too?”

It was all he ever heard from the other kids. He didn’t even know what a cultist was.

Both Shavonni and his mom told him not to mind it, the others just didn’t understand. It was hard to ignore it when it was all he heard.

But it weighed down in his heart.

No one would pair up with him for camp activities, other than Shavonni.

Sometimes, fed up, his mother would make another kid pair up with him. It just made things worse. One theatre kid started crying when she got paired up with him for archery camp.

Ezekiel couldn’t blame his mom for trying to get the others over their fears or prejudice but nothing changed. The kids would just ignore him or avoid him.

Nothing was enough for them.

Not being a good camper, not being smart, not smiling and apologizing if he startled them, not even staying away from them.

They’d whisper more.

Eventually, Saturday came again and then both he and Shavonni could relax.  
They currently lay in the grass, side by side, looking up at the clouds.

“I see a goofy crocodile with a hat.” Shavonni stated, pointing up at the fluff of white in the sky.

Ezekiel cocked his head to the side, eying the figure. “Eh, looks like a submarine to me.” He concluded.

Shavonni snorted. “Sure, if you want to be realistic.” She joked with a nudge to his shoulder.

Ezekiel giggled a bit and returned his gaze to the sky.

“You ok?” Shavonni asked, “You’ve been unusually quiet, even for you.”

Ezekiel shrugged. “It’s been a rough week.” He sighed. “My father is gone, my mom has changed so much, the other kids hate me, even Mr. David is acting strange. It’s like everyone at camp hates me, except for momma.”

Shavonni glanced at him from the side and quickly looked away.

Gently yet firmly, her hand engulfed his. Ezekiel stiffened a bit at the contact and a flush of heat filled his cheeks. She looked stern but the blush on her face betrayed her.

“I don’t hate you.” She said, so quiet that he almost didn’t hear it.

A little smile crossed his lips and he shifted closer to her until he pressed up against her arm.

“I don’t hate you either.” He murmured.

Shavonni flushed a darker red and she covered her face with her free hand.

“Gosh, this is so elementary!” She giggled, shaking her head.

“Aren’t you in elementary?” Ezekiel asked, trying to hold down his own giggles.

“Ah, shut it.” Shavonni laughed.

Their laughter subsided and they pointed out more clouds. Ezekiel had just pointed one out that looked like a monkey with a jump rope, when he heard Max call his name.

“Ezekiel, come here!” Max shouted from across the field. Ezekiel sat up sharply at his call, worry lining his face.

“He didn’t curse, you’re not in trouble.” Shavonni commented, letting go of his hand. Ezekiel nodded nervously and stood up.

“I’ll be back soon.” He commented as he started to make his way towards the counselor.

Shavonni just grunted and continued watching the clouds.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey, squirt.” Max greeted him, “I got a surprise for you.” Ezekiel’s tentativeness melted away and he practically bounced on his toes.

“Really?!” He cried excitedly.

“Yeah, David said I could take you out for pizza tonight.” Max explained, jamming his fists into his pockets.

“What’s pizza?” Ezekiel asked. Max’s piercing eyes widened for a minute before cracking into a grin.

“Buddy, you haven’t lived until you try pizza!” He said. “I’ll take you to this great diner by here and I’ll show you the best gift to mankind.”

Ezekiel grinned brightly and nodded, fluffy dark auburn hair bouncing.

“We leave in ten minutes, so get your crap together!” Max ordered.

Ezekiel saluted him and ran back across the field, no doubt going to inform his friend about the new development.

Neil, just finishing putting away some equipment, watched from behind Max and snickered.

“I think he likes her.” Neil commented, amused.

“Yeah, and I think the feeling might be mutual.” Max smirked.

“He’s a really good kid.” Neil stated, closing the equipment door. “Much better than his dad.”

Max smiled and nodded.

“Even better than his mom too.” Max chuckled lightly. Neil laughed a little but took on a more serious tone.

“But are you sure this plan will work?” He asked, that classic childhood nervousness that never really left him peeking through. Max gave him a pointed look and a lopsided grin.

“Bud, since when do my schemes fail?” Max retorted.

“All the time.” Neil deadpanned. Max glared for a second in slight offense.

“Well count this in the history books as one that’s sure to work!” Max claimed before stalking off.

Nikki appeared silently behind her step brother after Max left, munching on goldfish. “This is gonna fail.” She commented through a mouthful of goldfish. Neil just nodded somberly and continued with his duties.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gwen lent Ezekiel an old backpack of Max’s. “I packed some bandages in case you need them and an emergency number to reach me.” Gwen instructed, not doing well to hide her apprehension.

Max rolled his eyes in irritation as Gwen slipped the bag onto her son’s shoulders.

“I’m a junior counselor and a former foster kid, Gwen, I can handle anything.” Max grunted as he led them to the campmobile 2.0.

“Yeah But you’re still Max.” Gwen retorted.

Max flipped her off and Ezekiel sharply kicked him in the shin.

“Hey, that’s my mom and that wasn’t nice.” Ezekiel reprimanded, glaring up at him. Max smirked and roughly mussed the boy’s hair.

“C’mon runt, we got discoveries ahead: The beauty of pizza.” Max said, opening up the back door for Ezekiel to climb in.

Gwen sat beside him for a moment and dragged her son into her chest, embracing him tightly.

“You stay safe, ok?” Gwen whispered.

For the first time, her only baby was going to be far out of her sight. Every possibility was running through her head; Ezekiel getting lost, him choking, Daniel somehow breaking out of prison and taking him away. The last one was a bit of a stretch but not impossible. That was what she feared the most.

“I will, momma, I promise.” Ezekiel assured her, nuzzling his cheek against her collarbone.

She pressed a small kiss to his forehead and gave him a tight, little squeeze before climbing out of the car and shutting the door.

David ran up to see them off, passing Max the car keys.

“Be careful, ok?” David chided, hugging his son tightly. Max groaned and tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

“Yeah, ok!” Max sighed, finally pushing him away. David didn’t seem fazed at all and smiled as he climbed into the car. Max tossed a lazy wave to David as he started the car and began to drive off, Ezekiel frantically waving to his mother through the window.

David smiled and nervously inhaled.

Now or never.

He turned to his co-counselor, only to find her already walking away.

“Wait, Gwen!” David called, running after her. Gwen tensed up, her anxiety spiking. She slowly turned around, biting her tongue.

“What?” She grunted, crossing her arms. David flinched a bit but that bright smile quickly returned.

“Do you want to take a hike together, just down the trail?” He asked, twiddling his finger in apprehension. “Or go fishing by the lake? The fish are plentiful this time of year.”

Gwen paused but quickly shook her head. “Not in the mood.” She mumbled as a weak excuse, heading towards the counselor’s cabin in hopes to lock herself away from the campers, junior counselors and a certain too happy, redhead senior counselor.

David reached out and gently grabbed her hand, Gwen tensing up like his hand were a blade pressed to her palm rather than his warm skin.

“We could watch Bob Ross together, like we used to!” He reasoned, voice near desperate. “O-or we could read some books, I think some of your old novels are still stashed around here! We could watch some TV, I’m pretty sure they broadcast Keeping up with the Kardashians here-”

Finally, Gwen’s patience wore thin. “I said no, David!” She shouted. “Take a damn hint!”

David jumped back at her sudden out burst, eyes wide in hurt and sadness.

Shoving aside the stubborn guilt, she turned and stomped into the counselor’s cabin. She furiously slammed the door shut and threw herself onto her bed. She hoped he would finally understand and leave her alone.

Moments passed and he didn’t follow. Her satisfaction was cut short when the door opened and David stepped in.

She wasn’t prepared for the stern look on his face. He shut the door firmly behind him and crossed his arms.

“Alright, what is going on with you?!” David demanded. “Why are you acting like this?!”

Gwen tilted her chin up defiantly, glaring at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She hissed.

“You’ve ignored me, avoided me, and come up with excuses to not spend time with me!” David shouted. “I just want to be friends with you again! I miss you!”

Gwen sneered and stood up, attempting to leave. David merely blocked the door with his body.

“No more running away, Gwen!” David snapped. “I deserve an explanation! I’ve never asked anything else of you before so for _once_ , just tell me why you are acting like this!”

Gwen grit her teeth and finally her resolve snapped.

“Oh, so now you care?!” She screamed, tossing her arm out at him.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” David retorted, leaning forward sternly.

“Oh, go ahead and act all innocent!” Gwen shouted. “Act like you didn’t tell him how I was a coward because you thought I left, how everyone was better off without me, how no one would miss me!”

“Gwen, what are you talking about?!” David hollered back. “When would I ever say that about you?!”

Gwen grit her teeth, tears of frustration, fury and seven years of pent up hurt brimming her eyes.

“You told him that!” She screamed, “You texted Daniel that seven damn years ago!”

David froze up. His eyes flickered over her in wide eyed shock and his gaze darkened.

“Are you serious?” He hissed. Gwen stepped back a bit but kept her gaze firm.

“He kidnapped you, spent years abusing you, abusing your  _son_  ,and you believed him?! Did it even ever cross your mind that he’d been lying to you?!”

Gwen screwed her eyes shut and clasped her hands over her ears, anxiety stirring her heart rate up. No, no, this wasn’t true. Daniel may have been horrible but would he lie like that? He had proof and everything! If there was one thing he was, she did count on him being brutally honest.

All those years believing that if she had ever escaped from his home, she would have nowhere to go couldn’t have been all been a lie. All that time, did she actually believe that maybe, just maybe, that things though horrible would maybe get better, better than being alone?

She pretended and pretended for so long, was it possible that she even fooled herself into blotting out any trace of Daniel’s deception? No. She refused to believe it. She wouldn’t believe she wasted any chance of escaping and the belief she’d have nowhere to go would be a lie.

“No, NO!” Gwen screamed, shaking her head.

“Gwen, I told you to follow your dreams, even if it meant leaving me behind!” David reasoned. “I told you that I’d always support you no matter what and that I’d be sad and miss you! Does calling you a coward, saying no one would care if you left and going back on everything I told you sound like me?!”

Gwen furiously shook her head, tears streaming like a torrent down her cheeks.

“Don’t you get it?!” David shouted. “What ever text he sent you was fabricated! He used my number and made up some lie to break you away from any connections to make you believe you were alone, so you’d have no one to depend on other than him! It’s what abusers do!”

Gwen grit her teeth and curled her fingers into her hair, tugging on it and shaking her head frantically. “No, no no shut up, SHUT UP!” Gwen shrieked, sobbing hysterically.

“Gwen, don’t you understand?!” He shouted reached forward and gripped her shoulders, trying to get her to listen. “I would never lie to you about this, I’m not Daniel!”

Gwen twisted and writhed in his grasp, sobbing out hoarsely. “SHUT UP!” She shrieked, trying to push against his chest.

“Gwendolyn, why can’t you see that _I love you?!_ ” David yelled, giving her a rough shake to get her to listen.

Something snapped in Gwen. And she reacted according to her instincts.

Her hand struck him fiercely across the cheek, the snapping sound vibrating through out the room. David released her and clutched his face with a short, broken cry as he fell back against the wooden door with a heavy, rattling thud.

Gwen’s hand, the same one that struck him, clasped over her mouth in horror with a small gasp as she watched him crumple to the floor.

“David, I-I’m so sorry!” She stammered. “I-I didn’t mean to- I never-“ Her words failed her. What could she say? It never seemed good enough.

David shakily rose to his feet, free hand clawing at the door for support. Her heart rose to her throat. Was he always that tall? He towered over her, eyes closed as he tried to control the pain.

Slowly, his hand that clutched his swollen cheek fell to his side limply. A nasty red mark was already blossoming on his left cheek, lines that indicated where her fingers struck becoming obvious. He opened his eyes in an unreadable expression and Gwen found herself trembling in fear. It was all too familiar.

He took a step towards her, she took a step back. Again and again, this was repeated until her back bumped against the wall opposite of the door, the space just between his bed and the window. She leaned as much into the wall as possible, wishing it would just absorb her like nothing, swallow her up and take her somewhere farther away.

David raised his hand and Gwen instinctively flinched. Instead of any slap in retaliation, his hands gripped her shoulders gently and he tugged her into his chest, trapping her in a tight embrace.

Gwen’s hands hovered over his sides for a long moment in surprise. He didn’t hit her, he didn’t even try to. Realization of the gravity of her actions dawned on Gwen and her arms locked around his waist tightly. Hot tears blurred her vision and sobs bubbles up in her chest, spilling passed her lips with heaves of her shoulders.

David held on to her tightly as she wailed out, her legs growing weaker under her. Slowly, they crumpled to the floor, Gwen digging her fingers into his vest and pulling herself into him as she sobbed.

“Gwen, I would never ever hurt you.” He whispered. “You never need to be afraid of me. I'm sorry for yelling. That was wrong of me.”

His own tears trailed down his cheeks as he tucked her head under his chin and locked his arms tightly around her, the droplets stinging the sensitive skin of his bruising cheek and dripping onto her hair.

“I-I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry!” Gwen wailed out, burying her face into his little handkerchief/camper shirt around his neck.

David hushed her softly, rocking her in his embrace.

“It’s ok, Gwen.” He eased, rubbing between her shoulder blades. “It’s not your fault, it’s Daniel’s.”

“But I believed him and- and I hurt you!” She sobbed. “It’s all just a big mess!”

David tightened his grip on her. “Yeah, it is but it’s the mess he made.” David pressed,.“Now, we are both are going to clean it up together. I'm not going to abandon you, especially when you need a friend.”

Gwen whimpered, nuzzling her cheek against his chest. “Thank you, David.” She murmured after a long while of silence, sniffing and giving a little hiccup.

David’s face flushed at the gesture and he couldn’t restrain himself from pressing a small kiss to her hair.

“You’re welcome, Gwen.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if anyone is crying after reading this, don’t worry, I cried writing this.
> 
> Comments are appreciated, my dears!


	10. Dinner with a brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max takes Ezekiel to try pizza and has a heart to heart with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fluff and brotherly love. Prepare your hearts my dears!

The pizza place was quiet, clear to not get many visitors. Max finished paying for the pizza and went to sit down beside Ezekiel, who was waiting patiently at a booth.

Max paused when he caught glimpse of where Ezekiel was sitting.

It was the same booth he, David, and Gwen sat at all those years ago. The first time he felt he had a family. David brightly smiling and Gwen’s raucous laughter filling his ears seemed to echo in the back of his mind years later. For just one day, Max had an actual mom and dad.

Until Daniel took that away from him.

Max shook away the nostalgia and creeping anger and sat beside Ezekiel. The boy looked up to him with vibrant blue eyes as he sat next to him.

“So, why did you take me here?” Ezekiel asked.

Max held his hands together. “Multiple reasons. The primary one... is well...I know the kids haven’t been treating you right.” Max explained softly. “They just don’t understand certain things, bad home lives can be one of them.”

Ezekiel listened and glanced at his own hands, brushing the pads of his thumbs together.

“Yeah.” He agreed quietly. “I just wished they’d understand. This is all so new to me. My father is gone somewhere and I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again, my mom has changed so much that it feels I don’t even know her anymore, and it feels everyone except Shavonni is afraid of me. I just wish someone would understand.”

Max paused for a second before taking in a shaky inhale.

“I came from a home similar to yours.” Max explained. “My father wasn’t as... dangerous as yours but my parents didn’t care about me, sometimes my dad would hit me. You’re really lucky to have a mom that loves you so much that she stood up to him; my mom didn’t care. I don’t want to compare my life to yours, our experiences were different but I just...want you know that you have people at Camp that really care for you.”

Ezekiel sat patiently as Max finished his story before reaching over and taking his hand in his tinier one. Green-blue eyes met gentle aquamarine pools. “I wish I had a brother like you.” Ezekiel murmured before leaning against his shoulder.

Max felt a burning lump form in his throat and he blinked back the stubborn moisture gathering in his eyes. “Dammit kid, don’t make me go all soft on you.” Max grunted, rubbing his eyes firmly before he’d get all mushy. “I’ve gotten all sappy too many times within the last couple of weeks.” Ezekiel chuckled lightly and smiled up at him.

“What about the second reason?” Ezekiel asked curiously.

Max paused for a second. “Well, your mom and da- David really need to work out some issues.” Max explained. “They were friends before but she’s been acting strange around him and she refused to talk to him. I was hoping that allowing them to be alone for a little while would give them space to figure things out.”

Ezekiel tipped his head to the side.

”I guess it’d be good for her to be friends with him.” He said cautiously. He wasn’t so sure. But his mom didn’t have any friends other than him. Maybe, just maybe this would be good for her.

“You know you mom told me something once.” Max said, pulling Ezekiel from his thoughts.

An employee from the dinner brought over a large, steaming dish, set it down and walked away. On the dish was a flat piece of dough with melted cheese and slices of meat.

“Life sucks sometimes, but at least there’s pizza.” Max recited, smiling down at their meal.

Ezekiel stared at the unusual dish in curiosity and wonder.

“She also told me ‘Don’t just look at it, eat up, you little shi- shorty!” Max chuckled softly, picking up a slice and setting it on a plate for the boy. He made it a habit not to swear in front of the kids too much.

Ezekiel laughed bubbly. That definitely sounded like something his mom would say.

Ezekiel cautiously picked up the warm slice and slowly brought it to his lips. He took a tender bite and chewed thoughtfully. He broke into and wide grin and wolfed down the slice, Max breaking out in loud laughter.

“Like it?” He snorted, taking up his own slice. Ezekiel nodded enthusiastically, being sure to keep his mouth closed as he chewed.

“We’ll be sure to get more of this sometime.” Max said as he took a bite of his pizza.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they finally got back to camp, Ezekiel had a full belly and heavy eyes. He held a box of extra pizza in his lap for Shavonni and his mom. He recalled Shavonni mentioning she loved pepperoni.

Upon reaching camp, Max got out of the car and opened the door for him. Ezekiel scooted out of the seat and hopped out, Max closing the door behind him.

“Want me to walk you back?” Max asked quietly.

Ezekiel shook his head. “No, I’m fine.” He responded, “But would you mind taking a two slices back to the cabin for mom?”

Max nodded and took the pizza box from him. He slipped out two slices and handed the box back to Ezekiel.

“Goodnight, runt.” Max said, ruffling his hair with his free hand. Ezekiel giggled at the contact and nuzzled his head up against Max’s hand.

“Goodnight, Max!” He replied cheerfully. “Thanks for the pizza!”

Max smiled and nodded a “no problem” as he watched the boy turn and leave for his tent.

As he walked towards the tents, Ezekiel caught sight of his mother at the pier. She was sitting beside David, both very close together, shoulders almost brushing. David said something to her and she nodded and said something back. As they spoke, David’s hand inched closer to Gwen’s. She noticed and she fully took his hand in hers. David tensed up and she laughed, her voice echoing along the quiet space.

Ezekiel watched this exchange for a minute or too, completely dumbfounded. Well, that was fast. He couldn’t help but wonder what happened while they were gone. Probably just a civil talk. David seemed very good at those.

When he got to Shavonni’s tent, he knocked or rather scratched at the tent flap. Within seconds, Rachel popped her head out.

“Hey Ezekiel, what’s up?” She asked. For once she didn’t seem very nervous around him. Just tired.

“Just have this pizza for Shavonni.” He explained, holding out the box.

Shavonni rapidly shoved Rachel out of the way and took the box from Ezekiel.

“Damn, you’re the best, Ezzi!” She exclaimed, opening up the box. “Man, I wish I had some buffalo sauce for this too, but normal pepperoni is perfect!”

Ezekiel blushed a bit and twiddled his thumbs together. “I’m glad you like it!” He said bashfully.

“I love it!” She replied, giving him a bright, toothy grin. That familiar warm, fluffy feeling rose in his chest and he felt he was walking on air.

“You’re welcome, Shavonni.” He replied softly, rocking on his heels.

Shavonni sent him one final grin before backing into her tent. “Goodnight, Ezzi!” She bid, before closing the tent flap with a mischievous looking Rachel in tow.

“Goodnight!” He said, heading off to his own tent.

Upon entering, he slipped off his shoes as quietly as possible to not disturb Marcus, who seemed to be sleeping. He snuggled into bed, pulled the covers snuggly over his shoulder and flipped on his side away from Marcus. Minutes passed and sleep began to shroud Ezekiel’s mind.

“Hey, you awake?”

Marcus’ voice jerked Ezekiel from his descent into slumber.

“Well, now I am.” He griped coldly, rolling over to face his tent mate. Ezekiel couldn’t say he had quite forgiven Marcus for his part in Georgie’s bullying. Marcus flinched guiltily.

“Where did you and Max go?” Marcus whispered.

“We went to get pizza.” Ezekiel said, his hushed voice still thick with ice. Marcus was silent for a moment and Ezekiel flipped on his side to face away from him.

“I’m sorry.” Marcus whispered. Ezekiel turned and peeked one eye at him.

“What?” He asked quietly.

“I’m sorry I’ve been mean to you lately.” He continued. “Georgie always bullies me so I thought if I hung out with him and did what he did, he’d be nicer to me. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Ezekiel listened patiently as Marcus finished his apology, silent for a long moment.

“It’s ok.” Ezekiel responded quietly. “I know it’s easy to go along with the crowd to avoid getting hurt, just...don’t do it again.”

Marcus smiled and nodded quickly. “Thanks, buddy.” He whispered, “Maybe we can talk more tomorrow?”

Ezekiel smiled and nodded. “Sure thing.” He murmured, “Goodnight, Marcus.”

“Goodnight, Ezekiel.” Marcus replied.

As Ezekiel flipped back towards the tent wall, he let sleep overtake him with her dark velvet sheets.

That night he dreamt of new friends, warm food and his mother at the pier, rebuilding an old friendship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof, this was one of my favorite chapters to write next to the chapter after the next one. That one was fun ;)
> 
> Comments are appreciated!


	11. The Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen and David have made up and Gwen seems to have gotten significantly closer to him.
> 
> Ezekiel still struggles with the new changes but has found things to be getting easier with more friends joining him. However, a question that has been haunting him for a long time is answered and he is not very pleased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No warnings here! Just a bit of feels.

Well, civil was definitely what Gwen was to David. Or a little more so. When Ezekiel made it to the Mess hall, his mother was talking to David. Once again, she was unusually close to him, arms almost brushing. Quite a big change from sitting anywhere he wasn’t.

She didn’t even notice Ezekiel walk in. She was too busy laughing at something David said. Ezekiel padded up to her, cleared his throat behind her and she jumped a little in surprise.

“Oh, morning, Ezzi!” Gwen greeted, scooping him up into her arms and smooshing little sloppy kisses all over his cheeks. Ezekiel gagged playfully and linked his arms around her shoulders.

“Good morning, momma.” He chirped, snuggling up against her. “Did you like the pizza?”

Gwen nodded, setting him down a little. “I really need to take you to another great pizza place called Primo’s, they’ve got awesome pizza and garlic bread rolls.” She said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been there.”

Ezekiel grinned excitedly and practically bounced on his toes.

David watched the exchange quietly, a smile blooming on his cheeks. For one minute, David felt a warm burn of fondness for the little boy. With his white hair gone now, it’s as if he had stripped off anything that reminded him of-

“Do you think we can take Father when he comes back?” Ezekiel asked, beaming up at his mother with icy blue eyes.

Dang it.

Gwen tensed up. “I-I don’t know, Ezzi.” She mumbled. “He... maybe gone for a while.” Ezekiel cocked his head to the side.

“How come, momma?” He asked in worried confusion.

“Umm...The nice police officers are gonna be keeping an eye on him for a while because...well...he’s on a vacation!” Gwen stammered, fibbing.

David looked at her for a long moment in confusion and she shot him a short look. He got the message: don’t say a word or I’ll string you up by your bandanna.

Ezekiel looked at his feet in soft disappointment. “Oh, when will he be back?” He asked quietly.

Gwen glanced away, unable to hold his gaze. “I don’t know, the police will let me know and I’ll tell you!” She replied quickly.

Ezekiel opened his mouth to ask another question but David jumped in.

“Hey, Ezzi, how about you go take a shower before breakfast?” He suggested, holding back the tense note in his voice. Ezekiel looked to him for a minute and halfheartedly shrugged. “Yeah, sure.” He mumbled, heading out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Gwen watched Ezekiel leave, she breathed a sigh of relief and felt her anxiety still. “You haven’t told him, yet?!” David said incredulously.

Never mind, it spiked very heavily now. “I’m going to!” Gwen insisted.

“Gwen, Daniel is in prison now and after the trial, he’s going to stay in there for a very long time!” David remarked. “You have to tell him what happened to his father and tell him the truth about his father!”

Gwen chewed her tongue in frustration and anxiety.

She didn’t want to break Ezzi’s heart. As far as her son knew, his beloved father merely supported killing for Zeemug, not that he actually committed the crime multiple times, involving many people as young as Ezekiel.

No matter what his father did to him, Ezekiel somehow never managed to stop loving his father, even after he had hurt him so many times. He was only seven, sweet childlike forgiveness still in his young heart.

But Daniel was still a cruel, abusive murderer and was likely not going to come back from prison for another 30 to 35 years after what he did to her and her baby, maybe without the possibility of parol.

If she were counting all the murder charges he’d be facing, Ezekiel would never see his father again, at least not without a glass wall between them. If she waited that long, Ezekiel would never forgive her, and that was something very unlike him. Not impossible, however.

“I’ll tell him, David.” Gwen insisted, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. David blushed a bit and returned the gentle squeeze. “Promise?” He asked quietly.

“I promise.” Gwen murmured.

She didn’t tell him. Not for a while anyway.

The week passed and Ezekiel noticed his mom acting stranger and stranger. Her cheeks got very red when David would say something nice to her, she smiled more around him, even after they stopped talking and went their separate ways for a little while.

It was weird but he didn’t want to ask her. It was hard enough asking her what happened to father. She had changed so much, it scared him.

He couldn’t ask is his new friends either. Marcus and Shavonni both hung out with him now and with her brother warming up to him, so did Rachel. He found out Rachel was there for dance camp and Marcus was there for robotics.

He got to help Rachel with her interpretive hip hop ballet and Marcus with a robot that could do homework and fight bullies. Despite his two new friends, he still saved some time to spend alone with Shavonni

They currently lay side by side, watching the clouds like they usually did alone. But his mind wasn’t focused on finding shapes in cotton ball clouds.

“Hey, you ok?” Shavonni asked, glancing over at him. “You’re quiet again.”

Ezekiel just kept his eyes on the sky.

“I-I’m just worried about my dad.” Ezekiel murmured hesitantly. Shavonni suddenly sat up and looked down at him in horror.

“Are you serious?!” She gasped, “Ezekiel, that’s crazy!”

Ezekiel tensed up and felt an unusual ball of...something rise in his chest.

“What do you mean?” He said tersely.

“Ezekiel, he’s a murderer and a cultist!” Shavonni cried. “He hurt you and your mom too! I’m glad my dad shut him away!”

Ezekiel sat up sharply and looked at her with wide intense eyes. “What?” He said slowly, voice thick with growing shock and anger.

“Ezzi, you’re dad broke the law!” She shouted. “That’s what happens; you break the law, you go to jail! And I’m glad he is, considering all the things he did to you!”

Ezekiel stared at his feet, eyes fierce and burning with fury. “I got to go.” He seethed, standing up stiffly and marching away.

Shavonni didn’t know why, but she did feel that she crossed a very sensitive line. “Ezekiel, wait-“ She called, standing to her feet.

“Just leave me alone!” Ezekiel shouted, not even bothering to turn around. Shavonni just watched at a loss for words as Ezekiel just stormed away.

“Dammit.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ezekiel stormed up to the counselor’s cabin, fury truly setting in. She lied to him. His mother _lied_ to him. His dad wasn’t on some vacation, under the eye of “nice” police officers. He was in a prison, being monitored by prison guards!

Ezekiel knew his dad did something bad to him but he missed his dad. He had already forgiven him and just wanted his family together again. It was all he knew.

Opening the door with a furious jerk, he prepared himself for what he was going to say but was cut off by a horrid sight that practically sent him reeling back.

“Mom, Mr. David, what are you _doing?!!_ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger time! Should I post the concluding part tomorrow? Or maybe I should wait it out a bit longer.
> 
> What did you all think? Frustrated on the cliffhanger? Excited about the story? Tell me your thoughts down in the comment!
> 
> And thank you all for being so wonderful!


	12. Fixing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ezekiel learns the truth and David must set aside his previous feelings to help him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning of mentions of past abuse and feelsy fluff.

Gwen hung up the phone on the desk and let out a deep, anxious groan. She dreaded calling her parents. Her mother chattered on and on about different things, too flighty to stay on topic. Then her dad took the phone. Boy, it was extremely awkward talking to him, many long, awkward pauses and strained words. Even now.

He had heard the story over the news and hadn’t been able to reach her until now, probably wrestling the information from the police. Poor Jacob.

He informed her quickly, in his sternest Sanchez voice that left no room for argument that once summer was over, she and Ezekiel would live with him and her mother.

 _Yaaaay_.

Fantastic. But she knew it’d be her best option unless something else came up. With a begrudged ok, she hung up.

David came in a minute after, smile fading at Gwen’s insistent frown.

“What’s going on?” He asked. “Just finished calling my parents and my dad insists that Ezekiel and I move in with him.” Gwen grumbled. David beamed from ear to ear.

“That’s great, you have someplace to stay the rest of the year!” David said joyfully.

That happy note in his voice dropped when he remembered something very vital. Gwen didn’t exactly have an amazing relationship with her parents.

“Well, unless you don’t want to.” He addedsheepishly. Gwen groaned and rubbed her temples.

“My dad can just be so... overbearing.” Gwen mumbled. “And my mom is a bit inconsiderate, sweet but inconsiderate.”

She flattened her palm against her forehead and closing her eyes with a heavy, forlorn sigh.

“I’m just worried what they’ll say around Ezekiel.” She muttered. “I mean, I turned out so messed up, I don’t want the same for him.”

David gently shifted his feet. “I don’t think you’re messed up, I think you’re pretty amazing.” David said, just above a whisper.

Gwen looked up at him from her palm, cheeks flushing a dull red. She quickly shook her head and chuckled lowly.

“Don’t be all mushy, you big goof.” She snorted, sitting back in her chair. David chuckled dryly shifting his feet.

“Gwen, if you really don’t want to move back in with your parents...” he mumbled nervously, twiddling his fingers together and visibly fidgeting in place. “I can help.”

Gwen looked up at him bewilderment as soon as those words left his mouth, hand dropping against the desk and sitting straight up.

“I-I mean my house big enough for a larger family,” David fumbled. “I can help you get an apartment and if you ever need a place to stay or food to eat, my front door is always open. It'd be like a sleep-over. I can sleep in the couch if you’d prefer to share a bed with Ezekiel since you two are so close or in Max's room. We can work that out!”

How cute. He’s rambling, face red as a ripe Red Delicious apple. Gwen shook her head with amused grin as she stood up and slowly made her way over to him, steps unhurried and lax. He just kept going, not noticing her approach.

“We’d have to get him enrolled in school, maybe homeschooling will be best for him but only if you want to, I mean...Do you want...to?” He trailed off, realizing how close she was.

She was practically pressed up to his chest, giving him a soft magnetic, siren smile. Her eyes were half mast, a gorgeous, pulsing violet. David felt his throat go dry and his heart thrummed against his ribs.

“Gwen?” David said, voice coming out in more of a dry rasp.

His voice faltered as her left hand slowly rested on his chest. Her hand slid up his chest tenderly and rested around the back of his neck, her right hand gripping his shirt.

“Shut your cute trap,” She purred, yanking him into a kiss.

David squeaked in surprise, faltering into a tiny, broken hum. Gwen’s kiss was a tad clumsy, fumbling but loving nonetheless. His hands hovered over her before her hand grasped his wrist and set his on her waist. She smiled against his lips as he squeaked at the contact.

She gently breathed out a soft, encouraging sigh and held him tighter against her. David’s free hand finally rested on her side, just along her ribs.

Gwen grinned against his lips, pulling him flush against her, locking one arm around his neck and the other up under his arms. David swallowed nervously, completely wrapping his arms around her small waist.

“Gwen...” David murmured against her lips, fully kissing her when his words failed.

With his confidence upped a few notches, David kissed her deeply, his hands squeezing her waist and tugging her closer. Gwen sighed shakily as a jolt of pure, raw _joy_ shot through her, her heart ramming in her ribs. She could feel the faint prickle of tears gathering in her eyes.

God, Daniel could never make her feel this happy. He never made her feel like this. He only cared about making sure he felt good.

David gave a teeny “eep” and broke away from her lips, his head falling against her shoulder.

“Oh golly!” David squeaked against her, blushing like an idiot. She hummed in response, carding her fingers through his red hair.

“I-I love you.” He cooed earnestly, pressing an tender kiss to the crook of her shoulder. "I love you so much."

Gwen breathed out a fluttery sigh and leaned her head against him, eyes falling closed to keep from tearing up. “I know, you're painfully obvious,” She murmured breathlessly, drawing figures in his close cut hair as he held her.

“David...I think I feel the same way... about you.” She whispered, kissing the spot behind his ear.

David quickly pulled away, his face decorated with a bright red blush and that mile wide smile that left her walking on air.

“Really, you mean it?” He said cheerfully, batting those goofy ocean eyes at her.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it.” She scoffed, bumping her forehead against his.

He smiled brightly, softening as he closed the gap between them. Gwen shuddered as he kissed her. So unlike Daniel’s kisses. His kisses were always cold, aggressive, domineering, and possessive. David’s kisses were soft, warm, and so careful yet endearingly clumsy, like a baby deer taking its first steps.

So hecking pure.

Her hands moved along his shoulders as they kissed, arms wrapping sweetly around his neck. She snickered slightly against his lips, David blushing beet red with a tiny grin curling the corners of his mouth. He could do this all day, just kissing her and reminding her how much he loved her. Nothing could ruin this.

“Mom, Mr. David, What are you doing?!” Ezekiel shrieked in horror.

David jumped away from Gwen, eyes wide, face still red and hands up in shock as if to say “I wasn’t touching!” He took that back. It was ruined.

Gwen flushed bright red at the sight of Ezekiel, floundering for an explanation.

“Ezekiel, I umm-I didn’t-I!” She rambled, yet everything excuse that came to mind just seemed so meaningless.

Ezekiel’s look of shock just faded to a look of disgust and fury, brow furrowing and his jaw tightening. He turned and stormed out.

“Ezekiel, wait!” Gwen called after him. She knew it was hopeless. David glanced at her nervously.

“I’m sorry, I have to calm him down.” Gwen said quickly, starting towards the door.

“You still haven’t told him, have you?” David asked as she passed. Gwen paused at the door, one foot already out. Neither said anything.

“I’m so sorry,” She mumbled lowly. “I’ll fix this.” She ran out the door and left David alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ezekiel ran as fast as he could. He didn’t care where he was going, he just needed to get away. How familiar.

His mom cheated on his dad, while he was away in prison. She lied to him about where his father was, then decided to go ahead and lock lips with her coworker.

The Camp Campbell sign came into view. He just wanted to run away from it all. From the kids at camp, from David, from his father, from his mom. Unfortunately, his mom was way faster than him. It took her very little time to catch up with him.

“Ezekiel, stop running right now!” She shouted, grabbing his arm to force him to a stop. Ezekiel clawed at her hand as she pulled him back, wrestling with her grip.

“Ezekiel, please stop fighting me and let me explain!” Gwen pleaded, grabbing his shoulders tightly and making him face her as she knelt in the dirt to be eye level with him.

“You lied to me!” Ezekiel screamed, still trying to pull away. “You told me father was gone on vacation, but he’s in prison! You’re a liar!”

“Ezekiel, please let me explain!” Gwen begged, squeezing his arms. He heart was throbbing in her chest and stubborn tears of frustration and fear welled in her eyes.

“Why did you cheat on father, why did you kiss David?!” Ezekiel shouted. “Why would you lie to me?! _WHY?!_ ”

“Because I never loved your father!” Gwen shouted. “He took everything from me!”

Ezekiel froze up as his mother broke down in tears, hunching over and digging her fingers into his arms. Her head fell against his chest, ugly sobs wracking her body.

“He took me away from everything I ever had, he hurt me worse than you even know!” She shouted tearfully, her resolve shattered. “He beat me, did things to me behind your back that made me feel worthless and disgusting, threatened me and went ahead to hurt you too. No father beats his son like he did to you! No father commits the crimes he did and tries to push you towards the same life!”

She broke down into blubbering sobs, tears wetting his shirt and the floor under her knees. Ezekiel felt guilt pang in his chest as he watched his mother just shatter in front of him. “Momma, what did he do?” Ezekiel whispered gently. “What crimes did he commit?”

Gwen laughed bitterly.

“What didn’t he do?” She said coldly. “He killed hundreds of people including kids your age as a sacrifice to a fake cult god, brainwashed them, kidnapped me, and tortured so many others, not including you and me.”

Ezekiel was silent for a while, staring down at his mother. She didn’t even sit up to look at him.

“He did all that?” Ezekiel asked quietly.

Gwen just nodded against his chest. He was so quiet for a minute, then he started trembling. His shoulders jerked once, twice. Then he sniffed.

Gwen slowly looked up at him.

He was crying. Big, thick tears traveled from his crystal blue eyes, down his cheeks, and his lip trembled.

“He really is a monster.” He whispered, his voice breaking into a little, soft sob.

Gwen sat up straighter, pulling him into her arms. Ezekiel clung to her as his sobs escalated in volume into loud wails. Gwen rocked him in her lap, kissing his hair and hushing him gently.

“I’m sorry, momma.” He whimpered, “I didn’t want to hurt you, I didn’t know.”

His shoulders sagged against her. ”It’s ok, I should have told you the truth sooner.”

Gwen whispered into his hair. He drew a shuddering breath as a fresh torrent of tears flowed down his cheeks.

“Did he make you have me too?” Ezekiel sobbed, clutching her shirt front. Gwen held her breath for a long minute.

“Yes, he did.” She murmured.

Ezekiel whimpered against her chest, trembling. This was probably the part where she’d tell him she regretted having him or was going to be with David and have normal kids, forgetting all about him. It seemed only logical. Why keep a child you were forced to have?

“But, if going through all those years of horror meant that I’d get to have you.” She said softly. “Then I’d go through it a billion times, or more, just to have you with me.”

Ezekiel took a shuddering, teary breath and allowed a tiny smile to grace his lips, a ball of warmth filling his chest.

“I love you, momma.” He whispered, holding her tighter. Gwen smiled and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

“I love you too, Ezzi.” She said, nuzzling his head with her cheek. They sat there, holding each other like it’s what kept the world in order.

“Don’t lie to me again.” Ezekiel added sternly.

Gwen merely chuckled.

“You got it.” She said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two people watched the exchange, both smiling. One joyful, the other malicious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gwen and Ezekiel walked back, his smaller hand in hers. David watched as they approach the cabin, patient as they made their away. “Ezekiel, can we talk?” He asked, holding his hand out to the boy.

Ezekiel glanced at his hand and smiled as he took it. “Ok.”

David gave Gwen a small smile and led Ezekiel away towards the lake. They sat side by side on the pier, both absentmindedly kicking their legs.

“Ezekiel, I know I haven’t been fair to you and I haven’t treated you the way you deserve.” David began, tentative and weary.

“Because of my father.” Ezekiel finished firmly, looking at his reflection in the water.

“That’s true.” David confessed, “I was so angry and whenever I looked at you, all I saw was him.” They both stayed quiet, Ezekiel gnawing his lip nervously.

“But you’re not him, you’re Ezekiel.” David murmured. Ezekiel looked up at the counselor, eyes wide.

“You didn’t have a say in what he did, you didn’t even know what he was capable of.” David continued. “You may look like him, but you have your mother’s heart.”

Ezekiel watched him in silence.

“I love your mother, Ezekiel, with all my heart and I want to love you too.” David murmured. “I’m not your real father but if you’d let me, I want to try and be a father for you.” David sighed as he finished, looking down at the boy.

Ezekiel smiled up at him and wrapped his arms around David the best he could while sitting beside him. David grinned and hoisted the little boy into his arms, quite easy considering how tiny Ezekiel was.

“Ok.” Ezekiel murmured against his shoulder. “I think that’d be great.”

David actually started tearing up. What could he say? He was a sentimental guy.

He set Ezekiel down and ruffled his hair. Blue eyes met ocean green and David smiled. His eyes no longer seemed icy blue. Now they were more like the sky on a clear day.

David stood up and held out his hand. “C’mon, dinner is in an hour and we’re having chicken nuggets!” David chirped.

Ezekiel smiled, reaching up to take his hand. David hauled him to his feet, breaking into a joyous run down the field and dragging a very surprised Ezekiel with him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From her car, she watched as her target run down the field with the obstacle. Grinning, she spoke into her phone.

“Target sighted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What y’all think? Things are getting better and starting next chapter IT’S ONLY GETTING WORSE.


	13. Valley Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another week passes and things have gotten significantly better. But he can’t shake the feeling that something or someone is watching him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mild violence warning.

Ezekiel looked out up at the fading daylight sky, alone this time. It had been two days since his talk with David and things finally seemed to be going his way. Sure, he and Shavonni hadn’t talked much since their fight but kids were treating him better.

When he said hello, they said hello back. They let him play a game of kickball, though he sucked at it. He didn’t have his mother’s strong legs.

Nikki taught him how to swim and Neil taught him about Chemisty. Both very patient when he respectively almost drown and almost spilled cyanide on Neil’s pants. No wonder Max loved spending time with them; they were great!

He and David played a game of soccer with Max, although it ended with the ball hitting him in the face and ricocheting into David’s crotch. Max thought it was hilarious. Gwen did not. She spent the rest of the day trying to get David to stop crying and putting an ice pack on Ezekiel’s swollen cheek.

He missed Shavonni though. She didn’t talk to him much since their argument, exchanging very few words. He just missed her a lot. She was someone he felt he could tell anything to. Right now, he needed to confide something.

He couldn’t shake a feeling off his back. He always felt like someone or something was watching him from somewhere. He tried to ignore it, reason that it was probably the Quartermaster or the camp platypus, Muack, whom he had seen once or twice. Yet the feeling never went away. It just amplified.

Right now, he could feel whatever was watching him nearby, his skin prickling with goosebumps along his arms and back. Sitting up, he glanced into the bushes. He couldn’t see anything but he knew something was there.

There was a snap and Ezekiel flinched.

“I-I know you’re there!” He stammered. “I’m not afraid, so come out!”

“Hmm, you seem afraid.” A woman’s voice laughed out, cold and mocking.

“I’m not afraid of you!” Ezekiel insisted angrily, jumping to his feet.

The voice just chuckled darkly. “Ok, I believe you.” She laughed. “If you’re anything like your father, you must be _very_ brave.”

Ezekiel froze in place, his heart dropping to his stomach. “How do you know about my father?” He demanded, stepping closer to the undergrowth.

The hidden woman just giggled.

“He’s a very good friend, Ezekiel.” She replied, voice sickly sweet and dripping with adoration.

“How do you know my name?!” Ezekiel snapped, becoming impatient with this woman’s cryptic behavior.

“He told me; you’re all your father talks about, you and your _perfect_ mother.” She said, spitting out the word perfect as if it were poison in her mouth.

Ezekiel tensed up, a fresh wave of apprehension and distaste washing over him.

“Don’t talk about my father; he’s a bad man.” He snapped.

“Oh, and how do you know?” The woman responded, a hint of irritation seeping through her tone. 

“He hurt people, killed lots of them.” Ezekiel retorted fiercely. “He kidnapped my mom and hurt her, made her do things she didn’t want to!”

Hidden from him, the woman frowned venomously.

“Of course, your mother just doesn’t understand how good she had it.” She sneered. “Any other woman would have gladly done anything Daniel said without hesitation! She’s just a disobedient wretch.”

“Don’t talk about my momma like that!” Ezekiel shouted, stomping his foot in the dirt. “Get out of here before I call for David!”

He turned and began to leave.

“Don’t you want to hear your father’s side of the story?” The woman called. She smiled to herself as Ezekiel stopped in the dirt.

“What do you mean?” He hissed.

“Everyone has their side to the story, don’t you think your father should speak his?” The woman explained. “He really misses you and wants to see you.”

Ezekiel heart felt lodged in his throat. His father wanted to see him. After all that garbage he hid from him, he had the gall to want to see him.

“I don’t want anything to do with him!” Ezekiel shouted. “He can stay in prison forever, I don’t care!”

The hidden woman stayed silent for a minute.

“He’ll come on his own if you don’t come to him.” She chided. “And he won’t be so nice if that’s the case, you know how...angry he can be if you don’t obey him.”

Ezekiel shuddered as he remembered the crack of the whip and his mother’s screams, echoing in the back of his mind.

“I remember.” He mumbled, back lining with tension.

“Then make it easier on yourself and come see him.” The woman pressed. “And make it easier on your poor mother; you know what he’ll do to her.”

Ezekiel tried to ignore the undertone of delight in the last part, hidden within the unexposed woman’s voice.

He stayed silent for a while as he thought.

“Promise he won’t hurt momma if I go with you to see him?” He mumbled. Hidden from his sight, the woman grinned.

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” She replied coldly. Ezekiel took a shuddering breath.

“Ok, I’ll go with you.” He muttered.

There was a shuffle in the undergrowth. The leaves shook as the woman stepped into sight.

Ezekiel felt a jolt of terror run through him. This woman looked exactly like his mother but a lighter color pallet; as if she were a silly re-color OC. Her hair was an ugly bleached blonde, two shades like his mother’s with luminous icy eyes, wide with clear madness.

“Who are you?” Ezekiel whispered, voice suddenly dry and parched.

“I’m Jen.” She replied lightly, resting her weight on one side. “Enough with the formality, let’s get going.”

Teaching forward she roughly grabbed his upper arm and forcefully yanked him towards the seclusion of the forest.

“Hey, let go!” Ezekiel snapped, “I can walk on my own!”

She just cruelly grinned and yanked harder. “Let’s get going you little...boy.” She hissed, grin strained.

“Let him go, you fake ass Barbie doll!” A familiar voice shouted.

Jen reeled around, red faced with fury. Shavonni stood there, yellow eyes piercing with anger.

“Let go of him right now!” She demanded, cracking her small knuckles.

Jen sized her up for a long moment. A still small sound bubbled up from her throat, growing in volume, forming a cold, violent laugh. She hunched over as she heaved with laughter, grip tightening on Ezekiel for support.

“AHAHAHA, THIS IS TOO RICH!” She shrieked in her laughter. “JUST TOO RICH!”

Her laughter died down as she panted, wiping away a fake tear. “You really think you can stop me, you little rat?” She taunted coldly.

“No, but Gwen and David can.” Shavonni hissed.

Jen’s striking blue eyes widened in mild shock but she smiled sickly. Faster than anyone anticipated, the cold metal of a crooked blade was pressed to Ezekiel’s neck, the life vein pulsing against it.

“I don’t mind bringing him dead.” Jen insisted nonchalantly. “It would save me a lot of trouble.”

“No!” Shavonni shouted, reaching one hand out helplessly.

There was too much distance between them to do anything; the blade would have slit his throat and spilled his blood before she would be able to take a step.

“Shavonni, it’s ok.” Ezekiel pressed desperately.

She glanced down to him with wide, terrified eyes.

“I promise, I’ll be ok.” Ezekiel insisted, glancing over at Jen before his gaze met back to hers. Shavonni stared at him in desperation, torn between running to his aid or keeping still.

“Oh, how touching.” Jen taunted coyly. “But unfortunately, I can’t leave you here; I don’t know if you’ll yap to little miss _perfect wife_ about me when me and your little boyfriend make our exit.”

She clenched her jaw and hissed our the words “perfect wife,” as if merely mentioning Gwen caused physical pain.

“So you’ll just have to come with us.” She concluded, pulling the blade away from Ezekiel’s throat and pointing it directly at Shavonni.

“So get over here, or you and little Ezekiel here are gonna be playing hide-and-seek in a grave.” Jen demanded, coy tone in her voice dropping like a stone into something way more sinister.

Shavonni trembled and her hands dropped to her sides in submission. She got her. She slowly made her way over to the pair, her sneakers shuffling in the dirt. Jen grinned cruelly and squeezed the handle of the dagger.

If this woman was anything like his father, then Shavonni was in grave danger. Ezekiel knew he’d have to be clever to ensure Shavonni’s safety; he’d rather die than see her get hurt. It didn’t take a genius to see that Jen held Daniel in high regard. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage.

“Promise me you won’t hurt her!” Ezekiel demanded.

Jen rolled her eyes. “That’s not your problem.” She remarked. “We’re superior to her kind; she’s worth no more than the dirt on our shoes.”

Ezekiel grit his teeth and fury burned within him. He caught a glimpse of Shavonni’s face. She flinched as Jen spoke, glimmering tears welling up in her beautiful amber eyes.

“If you hurt her, I-I’ll tell my father you threatened to kill me!” He snarled.

Jen’s gaze snapped down to him, luminous eyes wide in actual fear.

“You wouldn’t dare.” She hissed, narrowing her cerulean gaze at him. “You wanna try me?” Ezekiel snapped, not flinching from her glare.

Their blue gazes remained locked in a silent battle of will, neither saying anything or moving. Eventually, Jen broke her gaze away.

“ _Fine_.” She seethed, “As you wish.”

Sheathing her dagger, she reached forward and roughly grabbed Shavonni by her collar.

“Let’s go.” She grunted, tugging them both along into the undergrowth.

It wasn’t a long distance away, only a matter of time and clumsy stumbles before they reached the car. A rose pink car, same model as his father’s car. Shoving them roughly in the back before climbing into the drivers seat herself, Jen started the car.

“Remember, no funny business.” Jen warned,.“It’s been a while since I’ve made someone pretty and I’m itching to continue my streak.”

With that said, she drove down the rode, speeding so much that the two children fell back against the seats.

“Ezekiel, I’m scared.” Shavonni whispered.

He locked gazes with her, blue meeting amber. Her eyes were wide with terror, her entire body was tense. Ezekiel curled up against her, comfortingly.

“Me too.” He mumbled under his breath. “But momma, David, and Max will come for us. They won’t leave us behind.”

Shavonni glanced out the window, back at the camp fading in the sunset lit distance.

“I hope so.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ezekiel?” Gwen called from the doors of the mess hall. “It’s dinner time!”

No response came from anywhere.

“David, have you seen him?” David looked up as he finished mixing Mac n’ Cheese.

“No, sweetheart.” He replied. “Maybe he’s with Max.”

Gwen couldn’t explain the grown anxiety in her chest. She had only called him once, most parents would start freaking out after the tenth time calling their kids with no response.

Stepping out of the mess hall, she cupped her hands over her mouth like a megaphone.

“Ezzi!” She hollered, “Ezekiel, come here please!”

No response, just some kids looking over at her. Her heart rate spiked heavily, now her breathing had hastened.

Gwen caught a glimpse of Max walking away from the campers tents, scanning the camp grounds before meeting her gaze. He jogged up to her, gaze worried.

“Have you seen Shavonni? He asked. “She said she was gonna talk to Ezekiel but I haven’t seen her since.”

“I’ve been looking for Ezekiel.” Gwen explained. “He knows he can’t go anywhere without one of the counselor’s with him.”

Max fidgeted in place. “I’ll go check with Neil and Nikki.” He said quickly. “Go check near the Counselor’s Cabin.”

Gwen nodded in affirmation and took off in different directions.

“Ezekiel come here right now!” Gwen shouted, heart throbbing in her throat.

Panic overwhelmed her, her chest aching in her terror. This was what every parent feared. Her only baby was missing. No matter how much the voice of reason in the back of her mind tried to assure her that he was sleeping in the grass somewhere or was wandering around the camp, the overwhelming sense of dread told her that wasn’t possible.

“Ezekiel Sanchez, come here right now!” Gwen screamed. “ _PLEASE!_ ”

Tears of fear began to well up in her eyes, making their way down her cheeks.

“Oh God, no please no!” She prayed silently, running towards the Counselor’s Cabin.

Ezekiel knew he wasn’t allowed in there, he was usually so obedient. But she wouldn’t be mad if he was in there at this rate. She just pleaded to the heavens above that he’d be there, reading the geography book with all the pictures that he loved so much.

As Gwen neared the cabin, a cold ball froze within her stomach.

There was a knife in the door.

A crooked dagger was notched deep into the wood, holding a folded slip of paper in place.

She knew that dagger. She’d never forget it, usually covered in the blood of innocents and accompanied with that frozen smile.

With shaking hands, she pried the blade from the door. The paper floated down like a feather to the dusty ground below. As if the world was in slow motion, Gwen reached down and picked up the paper. Unfolding it, her breath caught in her throat.

 _It’s_ _time to come home. Our son is already waiting for you._

 _Love_ , _your husband._

“Gwen, what’s going on?” David asked behind her.

Turning slowly,displayed the weapon and note to him like a bloody glove.

“Daniel has him.” She whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What did you expect? Jen was listed and Angst tends to follow when cultists are involved!


	14. Hell Hath No Fury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen begins her search for her son and Ezekiel reunites with someone he hadn’t expected to see.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so minor warning of Daniel just being a creep and violence warning.

Gwen, wait!” David pleaded, following her out towards the camp entrance.

“No, David!” She snapped. “The more time I wait, the more time I waste in getting Ezekiel back.”

She popped open the car door and threw in supplies into the passenger seat.

“I called the police, they’re on their way.” Neil informed David, slipping his phone into his pocket.

Max paced behind him, visibly trembling.

“I can’t find Shavonni either.” He reported. “She doesn’t just disappear like that!”

Nikki bounced up, a scraggly wolf in tow.

“Killer tried to follow Ezekiel’s scent but he lost it at the road.” Nikki added, patting the wolf at her hip. “Shavonni was definitely with him.”

David ran a trembling hand through his hair. If Daniel was able to connect Shavonni to Jacob, then Shavonni was in grave danger. He didn’t know what he’d do to Ezekiel. Judging from the state he found Ezekiel in when they first met, nothing good.

“What do we do?” Neil asked nervously.

“We start a posse and slaughter him!” Nikki barked, Killer beside her baring his teeth.

Quartermaster grunted in approval as he approached. “It’s been ages s’nce I last killed me a man.” He grumbled, raising his hook.

Everone was quiet for a bit after that statement.

“I’m going to find them.” Gwen ordered. “You all keep the kids in the Mess hall. I’ll be back soon.”

Neil hesitated but quickly nodded, dragging a complaining Nikki with him to gather the kids.

“Gwen no!” David demanded, grabbing her wrist to pull her back to him.

Max tensed up as Gwen whipped around and glared at David. Even Quartermaster was taken aback. Slowly, he inched away from the group, muttering, “Ain’t gonna get involved wit’ this family drama.”

“Gwen, he wants you to come to him.” David reasoned. “Once he has you, we don’t know what he’ll do!” Gwen yanked her wrist from his grasp.

“I don’t care, Daniel has my baby and I’m going to get him back.” Gwen snapped.

“Gwen please, be rational!” David shouted, trying to reach for her again.

“No!” Gwen snapped. “You may not care about him but I gave birth to Ezekiel and raised him; he’s the only reason I didn’t kill myself when things got rough, when Daniel ruined me! I’m going to get my baby, David, whether you like it or not.” Turning away, she threw the car door open and swung her leg in to sit.

She didn’t mean to be so brash but he didn’t seem to understand. It’s not like Ezekiel was his son. Why would he understand? 

“How dare you, Gwendolyn?!” David suddenly shouted. “How dare you say I don’t care about Ezekiel?!” Gwen turned to him in surprise.

David’s face was flushed red with anger, ocean green eyes fierce. Max was tense behind him in shock, actually takin a couple steps back but not entirely leaving.

“I know I didn’t act like it in the beginning but I got to know him and understand him!” David shouted. “I grew to love that boy, Gwen, as much as I love Max! I want to break Daniel’s _neck_ for even trying to get Ezekiel and for trying to get you! But I love you more than I hate Daniel and doing this will give him exactly what he wants.”

Gwen stepped out of the car, guilt filling her chest. She wasn’t thinking when she said that. She didn’t intend to hurt him, just to make him stop. David just kept ranting.

Tears began to fill his eyes and make their way down his cheeks. “I won’t let you do this, Gwen!” David yelled. “I lost you once, I’ll never lose you again. I-I can’t- I can’t deal with that again.”

He broke down into stifled sobs, covering his face with clenched hands. Max reached forward and rested his hands on David’s shoulder. He sent Gwen a sharp glare.

She got the message: Apologize. Right now.

She didn’t need to be told twice.

“David, I’m sorry.” Gwen murmured, “I didn’t mean that.”

She crossed the distance between them and put her arms around his shoulders. David’s hands dropped down to lock tightly around her waist and he held her close, burying his face into her neck. His sobs dissolved into tiny sniffles, curling into her occasionally and relaxing against her. She gentle pulled away and locked her amethyst gaze with his.

“I’m not changing my mind,” Gwen said firmly. “I’m going to save him.”

David looked as he were about to argue, eyes searching her for a minute before shut his mouth.

“Ok,” He mumbled. “But you are taking me with you.”

Gwen opened her mouth to argue but the stern look David shot back shut her down. No arguing with David Chastain on this one. It was kinda hot actually.

“Hey, what about me?!” Max demanded.

“No way, mister this is way too dangerous for you to come along!” Gwen replied. “You’re going to stay here with Neil and Nikki.”

“But I-“ Max started to argue but unfortunately, stern David mode was still on.

“No, Max, you are going to stay here and watch over the camp and that’s final.” David said firmly.

He rested his fists on his hips and squared his shoulders to look more intimidating. Amazingly, Max sulked and with a small tsk, he mumbled, “Fine, whatever.”

David gave him a short smile and hugged his son tight.

“Thanks, Maxie boy!” He said sweetly. Pulling away, he walked around the car and sat in the passenger seat.

“We’ll be back before you know it!” David called as Gwen sat in the driver seat.

“Don’t burn down the camp,” Gwen added before blowing him a kiss and driving off.

Max gave a lazy wave as they disappeared and pulled out his phone from his pocket. Dialing the number, he waited for the receiver to pick up. “Yo, Billy.” He said, “You still got Pikeman’s old motorcycle?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ezekiel startled awake as the car door popped open, jostling Shavonni from her sleep.

“Wake up, time to see your dad.” Jen sang in a sickly sweet voice.

Shavonni rubbed her eyes as she glared at Jen.

“Great, getting kidnapped by a Barbie knock off wasn’t a dream after all.” She muttered to Ezekiel under her breath.

If it weren’t for the life threatening situation they were in, Ezekiel would have laughed. But he wasn’t testing fate with Jen being two feet away.

Stepping out of the car, he swallowed back the sick wave of dread washing through his chest. The cabin. The only home he knew before Camp Campbell. Just how he left it. Even the car was there.

Shavonni took his hand, dragging him from his thoughts. She looked like she was about to cry. Squeezing her hand, he nodded encouragingly to her and she gave him a weak smile.

“C’mon!” Jen snapped, pushing them roughly towards the entrance. She opened the door and let them inside, shutting it roughly behind them.

Time seemed to slow down as they crossed the hall, each step taking them to the hall way that lead to the living and dining area. He remembered seeing his mother in lying on the floor of that doorway, under his father and shrieking as he hurt her worse than Ezekiel could’ve imagined or understood.

Her screams echoed in the back of his mind, escaping the mental crevice he had stuffed with bad memories and shut away under lock and key. He just squeezed Shavonni’s hand and stuffed the memories away again. He’d address them one day.

Jen opened the door and there he was. His father was more gaunt than he remembered, his face lost its original pink tint of life, now sickly pale. His eyes were more than alive however, bubbling with malicious thoughts and underlying aggression.

“Jen, where the f- Ezekiel!” He begun to seethe between clenched teeth to the Gwen doppelgänger before leaping to his feet at the sight of his son.

Within two long strides, Daniel was across the room and lifted Ezekiel into his arms. He snuggled the boy against his chest.

“I was so worried about you!” He cooed. “I thought those disgusting, tainted demons took you away from me for good!”

In that moment, Ezekiel understood why his mother survived all those years. It wasn’t just because she was strong as heck. It’s because she was clever.

She pretended so well that she fooled the most infamous and clever actor she had come up against. She tricked Daniel into thinking she accepted her role as his wife and seemed to give him complete dominance, all the while planting her seeds of goodness in Ezekiel while he had his back turned.

If he and Shavonni were going to make it out of this mess in one piece, then he would have to pretend like his momma did.

Putting on his best smile, he wrapped his arms around his father’s shoulders.

“I missed you too, father!” He chirped, snuggling his head under his chin.

“Now don’t you worry, I’ll never let them separate us again!” Daniel said. “Once your mother is here, things will go back to the way they were.” His eyes fell on Shavonni and his brow furrowed in confusion.

“Jen, what the fresh hell is that?” He asked.

“Just a little rat who caught us, so I brought her here as a present to you!” Jen explained enthusiastically, unsheathing her dagger and holding it out to him.

“You idiot!” He shouted, slapping the dagger out of her hands and sending it clattering to the floor. “I gave you chloroform for a reason! This was supposed to be a no hostage and no kill mission! Now what am I supposed to do with this gremlin?!”

He cast a glance down to her and crinkled his nose in disgust. The only child he actually liked or even tolerated in his presence was Ezekiel.

“I’m not a gremlin!” She snapped, crossing her arms.

“Whatever, just nobody feed that thing after midnight.” He muttered. Cocking his head to the side he studied her.

“Wait a minute.” He said slowly, “I know you.”

With a cold smile, he set Ezekiel down and approached her.

“When you spend time in a cell, you learn a lot about the prison guards if you’re quiet enough to listen.” Daniel explained as he paced around her. “One thing I learned was that a certain officer, Jacob Smith has a daughter.”

Ezekiel’s heart froze in his chest. Not good.

“M-my dad isn’t a police officer.” Shavonni fibbed, taking a step back, only to be corned against Jen’s legs.

“Lying won’t get you anywhere, _Shavonni Smith._ ” Daniel grinned. “Your father shows off the loveliest pictures of you to the other officers, I particularly liked the one of you at a football game with him; quite a good time spent between father and daughter.”

Daniel turned and smiled at his son. “Perhaps I can take you to a sports match when we’re out of the country.” He suggested. “We can get you into football too, though it may be different kind of football depending on where we go.”

Turning his attention back to Shavonni, he bent down and picked up the dagger. “Perhaps, for once, you made a good decision, Jen.” He mumbled. “It would be a great way to show Officer Smith what happens when he meddles with the affairs me and my family. It's personal now.”

Jen beamed from ear to ear, reaching down and trapping Shavonni by grabbing her shoulders.

“I’m so glad you thinks so, Danny!” She chirped, shifting as Shavonni struggled in her grasp.

“Don’t call me that.” He growled before grinning sadistically at the little girl.

Shavonni thrashed against Jen and tried to wiggle away from Daniel as he approached.

“No, please!” She wailed as Daniel pressed the knife to her throat.

“Father, stop!” Ezekiel cried out, jumping forward to pull on his arm. Daniel turned quickly and stared at him.

“Excuse me, what did you say?” His father replied, voice dangerously slow.

“I- I said stop.” Ezekiel stammered, eyes flicking away. “I think I have a better idea!”

Daniel cocked a brow at him in silence.

“Go on.” He urged.

“Umm... if you kill her, then Mr. Jacob will be sad but eventually, will move on.” Ezekiel explained. “But if we kept her alive... we can... uh- convert her!”

Daniel tipped his chin up in thought. “Explain, son.” He pressed on.

“If Mr. Jacob never found her, he would never find peace because he’ll keep wondering where she is!” Ezekiel continued, with more confidence. “And she could become part of our cult, so she’d be loyal to us!”

Daniel looked over to Shavonni and back to Ezekiel. “How do you know her?” He asked, suspiciously.

“She-She was the first person at the camp to treat me right!” Ezekiel answered. “She’s my best friend!”

Daniel’s gaze fell in thought.

“Oh please, Daniel, he’s just manipulating you!” Jen snapped. “Let me handle this little hellspawn, then we can-“

Ezekiel grit his teeth as she reached down and yanked Shavonni’s hair.

“You’re one to talk, you threatened to kill me if she didn’t come with us!” He shouted. “You just want to kill her because you're crazy!”

Daniel turned violently on Jen, teeth bared in a snarl. “You did _what?!_ ” He shouted, rising up to his full height.

Jen flinched and released Shavonni, who ducked out of the way. Didn’t want to get crushed by a furious cultist.

Daniel’s hand clenched tightly around Jen’s throat and lifted her up against the door, choking off whatever words she had in mind with a sharp, gagging sound.

“Don’t think that just because we are part of the same temple, doesn’t mean I won’t kill you!” He shouted. “If you ever, EVER treat or even look at my son again like that, I will rip out your throat! And that will be the nicest thing I’ll do.”

Jen whimpered as his hand tightened around her neck for emphasis.

“Do I make myself clear?” Daniel seethed through clenched teeth.

She nodded quickly, best she could with his big hand under her chin.

He released her and she dropped to the floor, heaving for air with loud gasps and coughs.

“Very well, son.” Daniel said. “I’ll keep her alive for now.”

Ezekiel and Shavonni gave a sigh of relief, her hand gently engulfing his.

“But,” He said. “If you try to escape, try to tell anyone where we are, or do anything that I find suspicious, there will be agonizing consequences for you. Do you understand?”

Shavonni hesitated.

She’d never see her mother or father again. She’d never be free. She wanted nothing more than to be home with them right now. To be snuggled up in her momma’s big, strong arms, go to dance class with her, to watch sports while in her papa’s lap and throw stuff at the screen when the opposing team scored or when a bad call was made. The thought of all of that would go away was enough to make her cry.

she wanted to go home and forget this all happened. She didn’t want this to be her new home...

But...at least she wouldn’t be alone.

Ezekiel was trapped too and if she had any grasp on Daniel’s plan, so was Gwen. They were all in the same boat, steered by a psychopath with murderous tendencies.

It would destroy Ezekiel if she denied and let Daniel kill her, destroy her momma and papa too.

Maybe, if she was lucky, she’d find a way out. Besides, she could never say no to Ezekiel’s pleading eyes. Hope wasn’t gone yet.

“Yes, sir.” She mumbled.

“Good, the gremlin is smart.” He said as I tossed the dagger behind his back to Jen.

Jen sneered at the pair, rubbing her bruised neck.

“Jen, make yourself useful and sew this new member a fresh pair of new clothes and fetch my son his clothes,” He ordered, snapping his fingers. “You two, go into the bedroom and wait there until I tell you to come out.”

Ezekiel quickly nodded and dragged Shavonni with him, the latter flipping off Jen as they passed.

“Daniel, really?!” Jen hissed as she shut the door.

“Don’t start with me,” Daniel warned, pointing at her threateningly, “Don’t you dare.”

Jen flinched back a bit and nodded.

“Just work on the clothes.” He snapped. “Did you finish Zara’s dress?”

Jen grit her teeth at the thought of Zara. She was all he ever talked about. Zara this and Zara that. Daniel was madly in love with her but she didn’t deserve it. Zara didn’t deserve Daniel. Jen deserved him! She did! SHE DID! _SHE DID!_ She could do everything Zara did. Cook dinner, clean houses, bear children. She could do it all!

But Daniel just _had_ to find Her. Zara, human incarnate of the daughter of Zeemug. It didn’t make it any better that she looked just like Jen.

Zara was far too corrupted. Mouthy, snide, a wretch who never wanted Daniel to do anything to her. He complained sometimes about that when he and Jen made sacrifices together, washing their hands of the glorious blood they spilt side by side. But Zeemug forbid she said anything wrong about Zara. Daniel would have a fit.

What Jen wouldn’t give to have Daniel love her like he loved Zara. She would never make him angry. She would make better dinners for him than Zara ever could. The house would be as pure as him, without any spot of dust or grime. She would have tons of kids with him, pure and naturally blonde. Not whatever wretched spawn of Zara that was in the next room.

She was so lost in her muddy, hateful thoughts that she hadn’t realized she left Daniel hanging.

“Galactic Confederacy to Jen, come in Jen?” Daniel said, crossing his arms. She jumped a bit and blinked in surprise.

“Oh yeah, I did!” She said, reaching for her bag on the couch. She brandished the clean, repaired white dress, making sure he could see the billowing sleeves.

“Perfect.” Daniel smiled, taking the dress from her. “I miss seeing this on her.” Jen resisted the urge to roll her eyes and gave a nod.

“I’ll bet you do.” She muttered, crossing her arms.

“When we make it to Europe, I want you to burn this cabin to the ground.” He said. “If the police don’t catch you, wait four months before we meet up Skåbu.”

“Whatever you say, Kristian Johanssen,” Jen joked, giving him a wink. Daniel rolled his eyes but nodded approvingly.

“Good, make sure you change your name to something Norwegian please,” He said. “NOT Leif Erickson, I mean it.”

Jen laughed heartily and saluted him. “Sir yes, sir!” She laughed. “Hinde-binga-bergin!”

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Just...get the clothes done.” He sighed. “...Why do I keep you around, again?”

Jen shrugged.

“Because I’m a sadistic maniac and I wholeheartedly support you?” She replied.

“Yeah, that’s it,” He grumbled. “We have to do it fast, so just make a basic spaghetti strap dress. We’ll figure the rest out as we go along.”

“You’re doing this because the boy likes her,” Jen commented.

“Someone is going to take up the mantle for me when I ascend with Zara someday.” Daniel explained. “He’ll need a wife to continue our family line, one way or another.”

Jen nodded in understanding.

“Zara will be here soon, she’s so headstrong and protective of Ezekiel; it is one of her best traits.” Daniel excused himself as he backed out of the room. “I’ll be in position.”

He shut the door behind himself and stood in the hall way. He pressed an ear to the door of his room and listened to the mumbling from his son and his friend.

“...I’m scared...I wanna go home...”

“I know you do...he won’t hurt you so long as we play by his rules...”

“Are you sure?”

“He usually keeps his promises.”

“I don’t know...but, I trust you.”

Excellent, his son understood the rules of this house. Daniel was the leader. Everyone listens to him, respects him, obeys and loves him. If anyone breaks his rules, they suffer the consequences. If they follow the rules and respect him, then life would be easy and happy.

Maybe Zara would listen this time.

He smiled at the thought of having his Zara back in his arms and away from the tainted world. Perhaps some time in the purification chamber would purify her negativity tainted mind and he'd have his wonderful, perfect wife back.

He’d just have to be patient for her to come home to him. He knew he wouldn’t have to wait long. Mothers need to be with their babies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I neglected to say that the last name Greenwood completely belongs to the wonderful Forestwater87! 
> 
> Isn’t Daniel a horrible creep? What would you like to see happen to him? Tell me what you thought in the comments!


	15. The Descent into Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gwen makes her way to the hellhole she lives in for seven years to save her baby, David in tow.
> 
> Daniel has been waiting for too long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Major * violence warning and Daniel being a creep, nothing sexy but he’s just creepy as heck.
> 
> If you are uncomfortable with any of this, see end notes for a recap on the events.

Upon arriving at the cabin, Gwen packed her borrowed pistol from the Quartermaster in her boot and ajustes the dagger under her pants, the weapon secured to her hip.

“I need you to wait back for a couple minutes.” She instructed. “Do you have that old hunting knife?”

David nodded and unsheathed it from his belt.

“But what if he tries to hurt you?” He asked, eyes wide with worry.

“That’s why we’re armed,” Gwen explained. “I’m going to try and wrangle information from him while you stay back and wait within earshot but out of sight. Daniel is quick and very clever. We’ve got to be smart about this.”

David glanced away and nodded thoughtfully.

“How do you plan on getting him to give you info?” He asked.

“I’m a clever beast, trust me.” Gwen smirked. “We are getting my baby back.”

David nodded determinedly and Gwen turned towards the door.

“Let’s go!” She said as she pulled the handle.

Quickly, David’s hand locked around her wrist and pulled her back to him.

“Wha-“ she had barely gotten a word out before David’s mouth pressed to hers.

She smiled a bit at the contact and leaned into him, cupping his cheek as she kissed him.

David pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.

“Please, come back to me when this is all over,” David whispered, shifting to hold her in his arms.

She snuggled her cheek into his shoulder and nodded.

“I promise,” She murmured.

They pulled away and locked determined gazes.

“Let’s do this.” Gwen said, opening the car door and stepping out.

The already bubbling sphere of anxiety in her chest was near bursting when her eyes rested on the cabin. She would be hoping that she’d never have to see this condemned house ever again. She’d live in a normal home with colored walls, actually happy pictures of her and Ezzi playing or pictures of her boy at his birthday with no creepy, cultist husband in the background to force her to smile or ensure that he could keep his hands on her at all times.

It was like he felt he wasn’t in control if he wasn't holding her, keeping her in line.

Striding up to the door with trembling steps, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Daniel was waiting for her.

The creep must have been waiting all day for her to be there, standing smack dab in the middle of the eerie hallway. Be prepared ore anything, she muttered internally.

“Zara.” Daniel breathed, as if he had been holding his breath while waiting for her. A cross between relief and satisfaction edged his breath.

“I was so worried.” He murmured, holding his arms out to her like he was expecting her to run into his arms like relieved wife who waited for her doting husband to come home.

Doting was the last thing she’d call him.

She narrowed her eyes and scanned him over.

“You look like crap,” She commented.

His skin was faded to a paper white, sunken eyes shadowed with dark bags underneath. He smirked, a bit tense with agitation but a smirk nonetheless.

“Being away from my family took its toll on me,” Daniel said. “It’s nice to have all the pieces finally together.”

Gwen grit her teeth as she approached him, remaining out of his immediate reach.

“Where are Ezekiel and Shavonni?” She demanded.

“Now, now love, don’t you know to properly greet your husband before your children?” Daniel chided. “Come give me a kiss and then you can see our son.”

“Where are they?!” Gwen shouted, stomping her foot into the floor.

“I’ll tell you, Zara if you come here and kiss me.” Daniel strained firmly. “If not, then I’ll just make you.”

That disgustingly familiar glint lit his eyes and her stomach dropped.

She knew he would. She’d probably faint from stress and David would lose his temper. If David ended up murdering Daniel but Daniel had Ezekiel hidden, her son would stay hidden out of fear of his father, even if she was nearby and she had a good hunch Daniel wasn’t working alone.

 _Daniel is a clever beast but you have the upper hand if he’s distracted,_ she reminded herself. Here goes nothing.

Gwen grit her teeth and begrudgingly approached him. Daniel grinned as she closed the distance, opening his arms to her as she stood toe to toe with him.

She quickly leaned in and kissed his cold lips, only intending to peck a kiss to him but his arms locked around her waist to hold her in place. He kissed her hard as he growled against her lips. A sharp squeak of fear bubbled from her throat and she could feel his satisfaction in the smile pressed against her mouth.

His hand dropped to her lower back and gave her a tight squeeze, fingers pressing against the fabric and her skin. She gasped starkly at his touch, her stomach rolling in disgust.

Despite the panic rising in her chest she forced herself press on. _C’mon, Gwen, pretend! That is how you survive! For Ezekiel!_

With a forced sigh, she pressed herself against his chest. Daniel smirked against her lips. “Daniel...” She sighed, putting on the sweetest voice she could muster without throwing up.

Daniel practically purred at that. Gwen smirked against his lips. He’s letting his guard down and she’s practically got him in her claws now; she could feel it in the way his shoulders relaxed and rigid posture slackened.

Dropping her right hand down his side, she faked another dreamy sigh and her she mentally felt for her blade on her hip. Daniel moaned and his fingers played with the hem of her shirt.

“My Zara.” Daniel groaned gleefully into her mouth.

The cold metal of a knife firmly pressed against his neck. He stopped short and pulled slightly away from her, his face still flushed. Though her face was red with disgust and embarrassment, her gaze was sharp with fury and determination. Digging the blade deeper against his neck, she snarled.

“Where the hell is my son?”

“Zara, despite how attractive it is, you know that knives are my thing,” Daniel said lightly, hoping to lower her fury a bit.

Gwen dug the blade deep enough to nick the skin of his neck, dragging a small grunt from her opponent.

“I’m not here to be your wife, I’m here to get my baby and my camper back home.” Gwen snarled. “I don’t care what I have to do to you, I’m getting my baby boy and I’m leaving you here to rot, dead or alive.”

Real anger burned behind Daniel’s blue eyes and he frowned. He gave a breath and nodded his head.

“He’s in the room.” He muttered.

“David, come in here and hold him!” Gwen called.

Daniel’s eyes widen in shock as David rushed in, pulling out his hunting knife and pressing it into his counterpart’s back. Daniel twisted towards Gwen with accusatory eyes.

“I see you decided to bring a surprise guest.” He growled. “You should have told me, I would have made some kool-aid.”

David pressed the hunting knife deeper into Daniel’s back, the blonde letting out a sharp hissing breath.

“Don’t. Speak. To. Her.” David said slowly, through clenched teeth. Daniel went red in the face with fury but said nothing.

Excitement coursed through Gwen as she approached the door, turning the handle quickly. “Ezekiel?!” She called, through the door.

“Momma?!” His shock filled voice replied.

“Ezzi, mommy’s here!” Gwen called, throwing the door open.

Ezekiel really was in there, smiling and dressed in his original clothes that matched Daniel’s with Shavonni next to him, dressed in a cute spaghetti strap, white dress. Both were curled up together, huddled together for dear life.

Instead of running to her arms like she had expected, Ezekiel sat firmly in place. His smile dropped as horror shadowed his face and his eyes darted to her right.

“Momma, look out!” He screamed.

Instantly, agony burst through her shoulder as something was stabbed into her. Falling against the door, she let out a piercing scream at the overwhelming pain. Against her better judgment, she looked down at her shoulder.

She cried out hoarsely at the gruesome sight. The ceremonial crooked dagger was embedded in her shoulder like a lightning bolt, throbbing with pain and oozing blood. Nausea curled in her stomach and she tore her gaze away from the injury to look up at her attacker.

Gwen choked back another cry of terror.

The person who attacked her looked just like her. A grinning doppelgänger with blonde hair of two shades tied in a ponytail and luminescent blue eyes, wide with lunacy and malicious bloodlust. It was like looking into the eyes of the Zara Daniel wanted her to be.

“Great Zeemug, I’ve been waiting to do that for the longest time!” She hissed through that crazed Cheshire grin.

She stomped her lovely white boots into Gwen’s chest, knocking whatever air she had left in her lungs. “You should know I don’t intend to make you pretty.” She giggled. “I want to rip apart that lovely face of yours.”

Taking the dagger imbedded in her shoulder, the woman tore it out with a maniacal giggle. Gwen gnawed her lip to keep from crying out in pain as a fresh wave of agony bloomed in her wounded shoulder and warm blood sprayed in her face.

“Get your hands off my momma!” Ezekiel hollered, jumping from the floor and charging towards the woman.

He latched onto her arm and bit into her skin with tiny but sharp teeth.

“You go, baby!” Shavonni cheered in the back as the woman shouted in pain and fury.

In her rage, Jen brought down the bolster of the dagger onto Ezekiel’s head, successfully forcing the boy to let go. Ezekiel fell limply to the floor, blood welling up from the cut on his head.

“Ezekiel!” Gwen screamed desperately, reaching a hand out to her son.

Ezekiel didn’t even stir.

Rage and maternal instincts filled Gwen and she clawed at her counterparts leg on her chest, cutting up the exposed skin with her sharp nails.

The woman cried out in pain and furiously yanked at Gwen’s hair, shoving her head into the hard wooden door and yanking a sharp cry from her lungs. She rose the dagger over her head and Gwen flinched, preparing herself for the blow.

Without warning, the woman was no longer pinning Gwen with dagger in hand but was shoved to the floor, screaming bloody murder.

Warm, gentle hands had pressed a cloth to her wound and was ushering soothing words in her ear. Gwen was too busy trying to register what she was seeing to listen.

She had expected David to shove away her attacker but who she saw wasn’t her David.

Daniel was pinning her lookalike by her throat and delivered heavy punches into her face, seething words between each blow. “You-“ he punched her “-Disgusting-” another punch connected “-WRETCH!”

The woman wailed and raised her hands to try and block the blows but to no avail. Daniel was way too strong. 

After a moment, Daniel ceased his punches but kept a strong hand on her throat.

“If you ever, and I mean _EVER_ touch my wife or my son again, I will murder you!” Daniel shouted in her face. “Do you understand me, Jen?!”

Jen choked out a few gurgling sounds but nodded.

“Good.”

Taking the crooked dagger from the floor beside her, he quickly drew the tip along her cheek, tracing out a bleeding line in the skin.

“Try to make that pretty,” He hissed, standing from the floor before delivering a final kick to her ribs.

David was too busy fussing over Gwen to notice Daniel approaching.

“Dav-!“

Gwen didn’t even manage to whimper out a warning before Daniel delivered a harsh kick to the back of David’s head, forcing the redhead to slam his head into the door. He gave a short cry before he went limp against Gwen’s aching shoulder.

“David!” Gwen cried out helplessly, watching in terror as his eyes rolled shut.

Daniel fiercely threw David off of her by his vest, sending him to the floor like a rag doll.

Daniel crouched down in front of Gwen, tossing aside David’s beloved bandana that was thick with her blood, disgust etched in his face. Taking out his own pure white handkerchief, He pressed it to the wound. Pressing down hard to stop the blood, he studied Gwen’s face.

“See how careful I am with you?” He murmured softly. “See how I punish those who hurt you?” He tilted his head in Jen’s direction.

Jen was curled up, rubbing at her bruised neck and crying softly, eyes flooding with hatred and jealousy at the pair. Gwen was torn between feeling satisfaction at how justly karma acted and actually feeling sympathy for her. Daniel pressed a little further on the injury to regain her attention, forcing a stark gasp of pain from Gwen.

“Only I can do that for you,” He urged. “Only I love you that much.”

Gwen wanted to bite back that David did, that he loved her more than Daniel ever would. But she couldn’t risk David’s life like that.

“I’m the only one who can properly protect you and our son.” He crooned, softly dragging his fingers along her chin in a loving stroke.

At the mention of her son, Gwen looked down towards Ezekiel.

Sometime during the struggle, Shavonni had dragged him away towards safety and held him in her oddly strong arms, pressing the hem of her dress to his head to clean the blood. She stared back at them in terror, pulling an an unconscious Ezekiel closer to her chest for comfort.

Daniel pulled her chin back to make her face him.

“But don’t you worry.” He purred, pulling something from his back pocket. “We are going somewhere no one will never find us again.”

A lighter fluid scented fabric was pressed over her mouth and nose.

Panic swelled in her chest as she tried to scream but only succeed in inhaling more of the chloroform.Her mind grew hazy and her body felt heavy. Her vision faded and Daniel seemed to be absorbed by a dark void, grinning all the while.

The last thing she heard was Shavonni screaming her name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok for those who didn’t want to read the triggering content: 
> 
> Gwen and David find the cabin, Gwen wants to face Daniel alone to protect David and have a better chance of getting info on Ezekiel’s whereabouts. Daniel insists he’ll take her to Ezzi after a kiss and though reluctant, Gwen complies in order to let down Daniel’s guard and back him into a corner. As he kisses her, Gwen reaches for her knife on her hip and interrogates Daniel to find out where her baby boy is. Daniel begrudgingly tells her he’s in their room and with David holding Daniel in place, Gwen goes to investigate and is happy to find Ezekiel and Shavonni together.
> 
> Jen is waiting for Gwen there and attacks her, stabbing her in the shoulder. Driven by jealousy and hatred, she knocks Ezekiel out as he tries to protect his mother and attempts to kill Gwen. She is stopped when Daniel viciously attacks her and David goes to take care of Gwen. Daniel turns on David as soon as he is finished with Jen and knocks him clean out. 
> 
> As he cares for Gwen, Daniel tells her he is the only one who loves and cares for her and plans to take her somewhere no one will ever find them, knocking her unconscious with a chloroform covered rag.
> 
>  
> 
> That being said, what do you all think? Next chapter is the big climax!


	16. Last Chance of Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The climax ultimatum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok major violence warning, verbal abuse and minor implication of non con.

Gwen’s mind flooded with muddy thoughts, head pounding as her migraine made itself known.

“What the...” She muttered as she peeked an eye open, drifting off as she realized she couldn’t move her arms.

They were restrained tightly to her sides, ropes keeping her firmly bound. Getting a good look at her surroundings, she was tied up in front of the house, sitting on a white blanket in front of Daniel’s car.

Stitches closed the stab wound on her shoulder and her body ached familiarly. She realized she wasn’t dressed in her counselor uniform, now back in her white flowing dress Daniel always made her wear.

That as*hole.

“Oh, Zara dearest!” Daniel said lightly, “You’re awake!”

Gwen turned her head up to face a grinning Daniel, sneering at him as he stood there like he didn't kidnap her.

Disgusting monster.

“I thought the chloroform would have lasted longer but I’m glad you woke up in time!” He chuckled. “Aren’t we, David?”

Daniel stepped aside to reveal David, tied up and leaning against the wall of the cabin.

David’s eyes met hers and Gwen felt overwhelmingly near tears. His arms and legs were riddled with large ugly bruises, blood trickling from his split lip and his nose. He had a lump on his forehead from being bashed into the wooden door and his right eye was swollen with a large black eye. His ocean green irises, usually so full of life and utter joy seemed dull and broken.

_No! No, I'm the one who was supposed to be broken, not David!_

“Daniel, let him go right now!” Gwen demanded, the only sign of her desperation being the break of her voice near the end.

Daniel grinned cruelly and stalked slowly towards David. David flinched as Daniel knelt down beside him.

“He has wronged me in the worst way possible.” He said in a sickly coy tone.

He reached over and viciously yanked David’s hair, his head jerking back into the wall. David merely whimpered in response.

“He’s been _lusting_ after _my_ wife.” Daniel seethed, accenting every stressed word with a violent yank of David’s ruffled hair.

David yelped this time, like a wounded puppy, eyes wincing with unshed tears.

“He’s seduced my wife and tried to turn my only son against me.” Daniel shouted, rising to his feet. “He tore apart my family!”

He ruthlessly kicked David onto his side and repeatedly kicked him in the stomach. David cried out in anguish, curling up to try and shield his exposed and delicate gut. Daniel resorted to stomping his foot hard onto his side, breath hissing through his clenched teeth.

“Daniel, stop it!” Gwen begged, voice shattering into a desperate sob.

“No, Zara!” Daniel shouted angrily, turning on her. “He tried to take you, my son, my freedom- everything away from me. I cannot forgive that.” Daniel’s eyes darkened significantly.

“I’m going to have to make an example out of him.”

“Jen, bring out the kids!” Daniel called into the house.

Within moments, Jen emerged with Ezekiel and Shavonni in each arm.

“Here they are, sir!” She chirped enthusiastically.

The only sign of anything that happened before between them was the stitched up cut on her cheek, heavy bruises on her face, and around her neck.

“Momma!” Ezekiel cried out, wriggling in Jen’s arm.

His little head was carefully bandaged (most likely Daniel’s work) and a bit of blood had seeped through the gauze but overall, he was alright.

Dropping the kids on each of Gwen’s sides, Ezekiel and Shavonni curled up into her for protection.

“What’s he gonna do to us?” Shavonni whimpered, burying her face into her arm.

“I don’t know, sweetheart.” Gwen murmured. “But I promise, I’ll keep you both safe.”

Shavonni nodded against her arm, nuzzling her cheek into the fabric.

“Take heed, this man has wronged me, a high priest in the Holy Order of Zeemug.” Daniel announced, holding his hands behind his back. “He imprisoned me, lusted after and seduced my wife, and tried to turn my only son against me! This is the punishment to anyone who dares to defy me, the Chosen Prophet of Zeemug and the Founding Father of Zeemug’s holy lineage on Earth!”

“Testify!” Jen cried out passionately, throwing her hands up in praise. “Punish the transgressor!”

Daniel grinned coldly and unsheathed the crooked dagger from his belt.

“Daniel, no!” Gwen cried out. “I’ll do anything you want, just don’t hurt him!”

“Gwen, no.” David rasped, “Don’t-“

A violent kick to his stomach silenced him.

“Don’t speak to my wife, you disgusting wretch!” Daniel shouted, red with rage.

He turned towards Gwen.

“I have been merciful long enough, Zara.” Daniel said, the vicious edge in his voice sending a terrified shiver through her spine. “And I am sick and tired of being merciful, so unless you want to ascend with me right now and leave our precious baby all alone in this big scary world, I suggest you shut your _damn mouth_.”

“Gwen, just let it be!” David pleaded, “Think of Ezekiel! I’ll be fine!”

They both knew he was lying. Gwen looked down to Ezekiel, his bright blue eyes were wide with fear, flitting between her and David.

“I don’t want him to die, but I don’t want to lose you, momma.” He whispered. “What are we gonna do?”

Gwen hung her head, biting her bottom lip harshly to calm herself enough to speak.

“Daniel, if you spare him, I’ll go with you without complaint or resistance.” She murmured. “I won’t try to escape, I won’t disobey you, I’ll be a good wife, like you want; just don’t hurt him. I promise I’ll do anything you want.”

David whimpered in weak, broken protest.

“Oh my sweet, precious Zara.” Daniel crooned as he approached her, bending down on one knee to be eye level with her. He gently cupped her chin in the hand that did not hold the dagger.

“You don’t have a choice.” He sighed, standing up to face David.

“Father, no!” Ezekiel cried out.

Daniel’s steps didn’t falter. Everything just seemed to slow in on this moment: Daniel striding towards David, the redhead too weak to even lift his head while Gwen, Ezekiel and Shavonni screams filled the air. Jen was bouncing on her toes, clapping like a child being offered a sundae for being good.

“Spill his blood!” She squealed. “Make him suffer!” She repeated those terms like a sacred chant.

“Father, don’t hurt him, please!” Ezekiel begged through his tears. “Don’t hurt him!”

Gwen thrashed in her bonds, nearly falling over if it weren’t for Jen reaching over and holding her still.

“You’re gonna sit here and watch every single moment of this!” Jen seethed. “This is what happens to people who try to take what belongs to Daniel!”

Tears spilled down Gwen’s cheeks as she struggled against Jen’s grip. “David!” She yelled helplessly.

But what would that do?

Daniel crouched low and yanked David’s hair back, his head jerking up to reveal the precious life artery in his neck, pumping warm blood throughout him. David only weakly whimpered in response. Daniel grinned as he pressed his blade to the skin, savoring every second of it.

“No matter how much you try, no matter what you do, Gwen will never love you and now...neither will Ezekiel,” David mumbled, voice buffeted by his labored breaths.

His counterpart glared into his eyes. Despite the agony he was in and the looming inevitability of his death, David’s eyes were flared up with anger and determination.

Daniel grit his teeth in frustration. This idiot wouldn’t give up, even when facing a horrible, painful death.

“I don’t need them to love me,” Daniel hissed. “But they both will if they know what’s good for them and I will take immense satisfaction in knowing you will never have them.”

David glared sharply, spitting blood into Daniel’s face.

“At least I didn’t have to force them to love about me.” He growled.

The blade pressed deeper into his skin, blood trickling down his neck from the cut.

“Die, infidel.”

Blood sprayed and Gwen screamed.

Daniel recoiled in shock, throwing his head back and screaming in agony.

“Daniel!” Jen shrieked in horror, releasing Gwen and running to his side.

Blood was pouring from the wound in his shoulder. David squirmed at the warm blood that dotted his face and peeked on eye open to try and distinguish what happened.

Max was sitting on a motorcycle, a gun in hand.

“Get away from my dad!” Max demanded, jumping off the motorcycle and charging towards Daniel.

“Max!” David cried out, half out of sheer relief he was ok and half out of terror that he had followed them.

Maybe some of it was shock from just seeming Max holding a gun. Where did he even get a hold of one? Probably Quartermaster. And where did he have time to get a motorcycle?

Jen bared her teeth and hauled up David, blocking her and Daniel with his body.

“Don’t shoot!” David yelped, flinching a bit. Max obeyed but did not lower his gun.

“Oh, you can have him!” Jen replied snidely. “Once we’ve made our escape!” Dragging David in front of her, both she and Daniel inched toward the car.

Once close enough, Daniel grabbed Gwen, opened up the car door, and threw her in. Gwen grunted as she fell against the seat. Ezekiel and Shavonni were thrown in seconds after, landing right on top of her and forcing a loud “oof!” from her lungs.

“Off, off, off!” Gwen wheezed, huffing our as they kneed and elbowed her trying to clamber off.

“Sorry, momma!” Ezekiel replied quickly.

The door was slammed shut and Daniel climbed across the passenger’s seat and into the driver’s. “Change of plan, Jen!” He called. “Jump in!”

Jen grinned maliciously, smirking at Max.

“Take your trash back!” She called.

“You got lucky, wretch!” She hissed into David’s ear before shoving him away and ducking into the car.

Falling into the dirt, David scrambled out of the way as the car started and veered towards the pathway. Max ran forward and held him up, steadying David on his feet.

“He’s got Gwen and the kids in the car!” David cried. “He’s getting away!”

Max smirked and shook his head.

“I may have gotten some people in on this action.” He said smugly.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Was that great or what?!” Jen squealed. “Did I do good?”

Daniel rolled his eyes but nodded.

“Excellent work, Jen,” He complemented. “We’ll drive out of here, towards desert area, and make our way to an airport.”

Ezekiel glared at his father from the backseat, gritting his teeth in fury.

“I want to go home, momma,” He muttered under his breath.

Gwen looked down and nodded, hunching herself over him protectively.

“Me too,” She soothed.

They needed a miracle to get out of this.

“LOOK OUT!!!” Jen shrieked, Daniel swerved suddenly and the car crashed into a tree.

Gwen fell against the front seat, Shavonni and Ezekiel toppling on top of her. A wave of dizziness washed over her and she shook her head to clear it. Ezekiel and Shavonni pulled themselves back on to the seat and hoisted Gwen back on to the seat.

“You good?” Shavonni asked, glancing between them.

“Yeah, I’m ok,” Ezekiel replied. “Momma?”

Gwen groaned in frustration but nodded.

“Yeah, I’m ok too.”

Daniel groaned and rubbed his head, shoving down the air bag while Jen sat there in a horrified daze. Shavonni studied him, before finally finding the dagger harnessed to his hip. Reaching over, she discretely unsheathed it.

“Let’s get you out of that.” She whispered to Gwen, carefully cutting through the ropes as fast as she could without accidentally stabbing her.

The ropes came loose and finally fell free from her, Gwen smiling and rubbing the sensitive skin of her arms.

“Let’s go!” She said quickly.

She pulled on the door handle, and popped open the car door.

“Go! Go!” She shouted pushing the two out first.

Shavonni toppled out onto the dirt road, grunting sharply as Ezekiel landed smack dab on top of her.

“Sorry!” He said quickly, jumping off of her and tugging her to her feet.

Gwen pulled herself out towards the door frame, despite the insistent ache of her arms, legs, and back. Something cold and strong grasped her ankle and tried to yank her back. She twisted around and her eyes met a pair of angry blue ones.

“You’re not going anywhere!” Daniel shouted, grabbing her leg with both arms.

“Oh hell yes, I am!” Gwen snapped, lifting her free leg and delivering a fierce kick into Daniel’s face.

Daniel cried out in pain as her heel bashed into his nose with a ugly snap. He let go of her ankle in favor of clutching his now crooked nose, Gwen scrambling to safety outside the car.

Quickly regaining her footing, she grabbed Ezekiel and Shavonni’s hands and dragged them away. Now outside, she could see what forced Daniel to swerve of track.

A police car with two familiar faces. Bonquisha and Jacob jumped out of the car, Jacob with his gun unholstered.

Huh, a miracle indeed. Hallelujah.

“Vonni!” Bonquisha shouted, running toward her baby.

“Mama!” Shavonni cried out, pulling away from Gwen and running into her mother’s strong embrace.

“Thank God, you’re ok!” Jacob sighed coming around to complete the family circle. “You are ok, right?”

Shavonni nodded frantically, hastily wiping away a few tears.

“But the hokey fools who did this sure won’t be!” Bonquisha said fiercely, standing up straight and glaring as Jen fell out of the passenger seat.

Jen shook away her daze and dizziness and sneered at the families, Gwen instinctively pulling Ezekiel behind her.

“How touching, a loving reunion,” She said, curling her lip in snide disgust at the group.

Jacob cocked his gun but Bonquisha held her hand out.

“No baby, let mamma bear handle this,” She said with a calm facade.

“Care to make this a tag team on this suckah?” She called to Gwen, glancing over and cracking her knuckles.

“Oh hell yeah.” Gwen smirked, rolling up the sleeves of her dress.

“Boo, go handle the weird David clone, please?” Bonquisha added sweetly, gesturing to the car with a wave of her hand.

Jacob glanced between his wife and the totaled vehicle but nodded.

“Sure thing, baby,” He said. “Be careful!”

He broke away from the group and made his way to the Daniel’s car.

“Kick her ass, mama!” Shavonni cheered, jumping up and down in place.

Ezekiel glanced up at his mom, Gwen glaring daggers at Jen.

“Please, be careful,” He said softly, tugging at her dress to get her attention.

“It’s two badass women against one maniac, I’ll be fine.”Gwen reassured him, stroking his hair.

Ezekiel paused and smiled. “Kick Jessica’s ass, Shalissa.” He said before he quickly covered his mouth at the accidental swear. “Sorry!”

Gwen smiled in amusement before turning her attention on Jen, sneering.

Bonquisha threw herself on Jen, grabbing a fistful of her blonde hair and wrestling her to the ground. Jen screeched and raked her nails along Bonquisha’s arms, resulting in simply hissed swears and being forced in a headlock.

But she just wouldn’t give up, trying to fumble for the dagger on her hip and Gwen was quick to come to Bonquisha’s aid.

Gwen hoisted up her skirt and kicked Jen violently, aiming scores into her gut. She’d be lying if she didn’t enjoy it. That beastly witch hurt Ezekiel.

“Don’t touch my baby boy ever again!” She grunted in between kicks, finish up with a rough smack against her cheek free of cuts.

“Mmm, ya shouldn’t have messed with us, little girl!” Bonquisha taunted. “Now you’re gonna go away for a long time.”

“Bonquisha?” David called in surprise, still using Max for support as he hobbled over. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, saving my baby?” She responded tartly, pursing her lips. “When I heard someone, specifically some cultist took my precious baby girl, Jacob and I hightailed it all the way over here.”

David looked down to Max with a questionable cocked brow.

“Who better to call for back up then a CrossFit queen and Badass Cop husband?” Max explained. “Speaking of which, where is Jacob?”

“Right here!” Jacob called. He pulled up from behind the car. He had Daniel in an arm lock, the blonde psychopath struggling violently in his grasp.

“I need my cuffs, Gwen, can you get them?” He called.

That just seemed to trigger something in Daniel.

“No, NO I’M NOT GOING BACK!” Daniel screeched, thrashing in Jacob’s grip.

With surprise strength, he tore away from Jacob. He lunged towards Gwen and wrapped his arms tightly around her neck, trapping her with her back against his chest. The cold metal of a gun pressed to her forehead.

“Thanks for the weapon sweetheart, ascension will be much faster, if a bit messier now.” Daniel said, voice cold and sly. “You really shouldn’t carry guns in your boots, though.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder, so their heads were aligned with the gun.

“I suggest you stand down.” Daniel commented to all opposition around them.

Max and Jacob had reached for their guns but froze at his threat.

“If I pull the trigger, the bullet in this gun will burst through her head and into mine, killing us both.” Daniel said, dangerously low.

“What about your son, Daniel?!” David shouted angrily, throwing his arm to the boy. “Are you just going to strip him the only parents he has?!”

Ezekiel stared at his father, pure fear and confusion on his small face. Daniel’s eyes locked with his son’s matching gaze. Slowly, Daniel’s gaze softened and the gun pulled away. For a second, Daniel seemed to reconsider.

And it faded away just as fast.

“He knows his destiny; this is mine.” Daniel replied coldly. “I was birthed with this grand prophecy to complete: to find the daughter of Zeemug and ascend with her. I have already disobeyed enough in making the mistake of keeping her alive and going so far as to lead this pseudo-life and having a child; something I intend to correct.”

Ezekiel felt something rip in his chest and he was overwhelmed with the urge to cry.

Something he needed to correct? Staying alive and having him was something his father felt he needed to correct?! He was just a big mistake to his father, something that shouldn’t have happened.

Seven years of putting puzzles together? A mistake.

Seven years of teaching him how to fold paper boats and create origami? A mistake.

Seven years of showing him that he cared for him and actually wanted to ensure they stayed together as a family? A big lie and a mistake.

Anger built up in Ezekiel as Daniel glanced down at him, expression calm and almost noble.

Daniel raised the gun to Gwen’s head. She clenched her jaw and screwed her eyes shut.

“I love you, Ezekiel.” She murmured.

Daniel silenced her with his arm tightening around her neck and he looked down at him somberly.

“Expand the temple, my son.”

That set him off.

“I HATE YOU!” Ezekiel screamed.

That exclamation stopped Daniel right before he pulled the trigger. He looked down at his son, completely and utterly shocked.

“What?” He asked in a hushed voice.

“I hate you!” Ezekiel repeated without hesitation. “You killed so many people, you hurt my friends, you hurt my momma, you took her away from everything she had, you made her have me! I didn’t want to believe it at first but you’ve proven it over and over again. You’re a murderer and a monster. I may have been your mistake but my biggest mistake was not seeing you for who you really are!”

At the end of his rant, Ezekiel was heaving for air and something wet had trickled down his cheek. He reached up and brushed it. When had he started crying? He didn’t notice.

Daniel was staring hard at him, stunned with shock and...hurt? Was he actually hurt? Whatever he was feeling melted away into pure, raw fury.

“Yes, I am a monster but you aren’t just a mistake.” He hissed through clenched teeth. “You’re a _failure_.”

Ezekiel flinched and sobbed, wiping his tears on his wrist.

“Our lineage is tainted, Zara.” Daniel concluded, swallowing thickly. “There is no hope for it. Only to cleanse it the only way possible.”

Daniel pulled the away from her head and pointed it at Ezekiel.

“The corruption ends here.” He said.

“No!” Shavonni screamed reaching towards Ezekiel, but she wouldn’t make it.

“Ezekiel, no!” David screamed, Max rushing forward to try and push him out of the way, but it wouldn’t work.

Gwen got there first.

With a fierce surge of protective, motherly strength and a determined holler, Gwen wretched out of Daniel’s grasp and grabbed his wrist, twisting until he dropped the gun with a sharp cry. With impressive speed, she snatched up the gun before it hit the ground and pointed it at Daniel.

Daniel’s gaze flickered between her and the gun, resting on her face in a dazed and fearful stare. He glanced over to Ezekiel in a silent plea for help. Ezekiel looked at him in an unreadable expression, eyes sad and filled with a look akin to disappointment.

Slowly, he turned his back.

Daniel’s gaze returned to Gwen, now unable to mask his fear. “Zara?” He rasped, voice trembling.

“My name is Gwen,” She growled.

She pulled the trigger and with a ear splitting bang, blood splattered her white dress. Daniel didn’t even cry out as he fell back, blood, brain, and splintered skull spewing from the hole in his head. He was dead before he hit the floor.

Jen shrieked and ripped away from Bonquisha’s grip, staggering over to Daniel’s body. She dropped to her knees and gathered him into her arms, one hand framing his ruined face.

“Daniel, no!” She begged mournfully. “No, no!” She broke down into raspy, weak sobs over his chest.

“I am nothing without him.” Jen whispered, clenching and unclenching the fabric of his shirt.

Stubborn sympathy tugged at Gwen’s heart and she opened her mouth to speak.

It would do no good.

Jen unsheathed the crooked dagger from her belt. Holding it at her throat, she looked down at Daniel’s limp, wide eyed body.

“Hail the beauty of Zeemug.” She rasped and she plunged the blade deep into her neck.

An ugly, gurgling sound bubbled from her throat, blood splattering from her lips as she tried to cry out in pain, only succeeding in allowing more hot blood to pour from the gaping hole in her neck. Twitching, she sunk down, falling over Daniel’s body in gurgling, blood soaked mess.

“Gwen, Ezekiel!” David shouted, jogging Gwen from staring at what used to be a pair of mad cultists.

David ran forward the best he could on hurt legs, throwing himself to embrace Gwen tightly, Max following to do the same. David pressed wild kisses to her lips, not even caring for the dry and fresh blood on her face. Max released himself from the embrace and helped to steady David.

“Are you two ok?” He asked, glancing between the adults.

“For the most part, yes.” David said, glancing down at the bruises, cutsand possible fractures.

“Gwen?” Max asked, holding her hand in hopes to calm her.

“I think so.” She said. “Go check on Shavonni, though.”

The girl was cowering in her father’s embrace, burying her face in his chest to seal off the horrible view. Bonquisha look noticeably nauseated at the sight and eventually forced herself to look away to tend to her daughter.

“Let me talk to Ezekiel,” Gwen explained as she pulled away from David and Max.

David nodded and squeezed her hands gently, Max helping him hobble towards the reunited Smith family.

Ezekiel was still there with his back turned towards the bodies of his father and deranged partner. His face was tense with mixed emotions of sadness, hurt, anger, and grief.

As soon as she approached him, Ezekiel spoke.

“I’m not a mistake, am I, momma?” He whispered, voice hoarse from his unshed tears.

Gwen went around to face him, dropped down to her knees and tightly clutched his upper arms.

“No, Ezekiel, you are not a mistake.” She said firmly. “You are the best thing to ever happen to me, the one good thing to come out of all of this. Your father was the mistake and the failure. But never you.”

Ezekiel kept his gaze at the ground in front of him.

“He’s not my father.” Ezekiel said decidedly.

Wiping the creeping tears that brimmed his eyes with gentle finger tips, Gwen scooped him up into her arms so he wouldn’t have to look at the mess of blood and bodies. He pressed his cheek against her chest.

“Let’s go home, baby.” She said quietly, kissing his forehead. “It’s all over now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end you were hoping for? What did you all think?
> 
> The story is not over yet!


	17. Recovery and Remembrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an ordeal as grave as the events that occurred, a visit to the hospital is expected.
> 
> While there, family is reunited and Gwen looks back on old memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning:
> 
> Mentions of attempted suicide.

As expected, a hospital visit was made.

David did indeed have several fractures, some in his ribs and in his shoulder. He joked that at least he didn’t break a leg.

Gwen didn’t find it funny.

Ezekiel was checked in for any damage related to the hit he took from the handle of Jen’s dagger. He had a very mild concussion but was expected to walk away with no complications.

Well, no physical complications that is. He was scheduled to see a therapist to deal with what he saw. It was way too much for any little boy to deal with alone.

Gwen couldn’t shake the heavy guilt over it. She’s his mother, she should’ve prevented this. But how could she?

She was lucky CPS didn’t come to take him over this situation. Especially since she came in there covered in blood and carrying a bandaged child just two days ago. She did however have to file a report. Jacob helped explain everything.

Her father came in to help things straighten out. Upon seeing her, he crushed her into a hug. It was the first time she had ever seen him cry. He asked over and over if she was ok, if his grandson was alright. He was very relieved that both answers were yes.

He was, however, not so happy to hear she wanted to stay on her own. He was even more perturbed when she told him she was in a relationship with David, so soon after this whole ordeal. He marched right into David’s hospital room and interrogated the HELL out of him.

David jumped as a brawny man with dark red hair, a thick mustache and oddly familiar violet eyes walked in to his room.

“Are you David Chastain?” He asked in a thick Spanish accent.

“I-umm- yes?” David asked shakily, shrinking back at the man’s intimidating stance.

“Listen here, if you do anything inappropriate with my daughter, I will personally see that you lose your cojones, comprendes?” The man growled, leaning forward and glaring into his eyes.

David blinked in confusion. “Your daughter- wait do you mean Gwe-?”

“Yeah, this is my dad, Joaquín Sanchez.” Gwen grumbled, walking in.

Standing side by side, they looked quite similar. Same hair, same eyes, same tan skin tone, same scowl too.

“I can see the resemblance.” David said nervously, hoping to lighten the mood.

Gwen’s death glare told him all. _NO._

Her father didn’t find it all that funny either.

“Mira aquí, nothing is too good for my little girl, if she is going to be with you, she will be treated like una reina.” Joaquin said firmly. David sat in confused silence.

“He said treat me like a queen,” Gwen explained.

“Oh, of course, sir!” David said enthusiastically. “I want nothing but the best for her!”

“Good, no sleeping in the same bed, no showering together, and no more nietos until you put a ring on her finger.” Joaquin grunted.

“¡Papá!” Gwen snapped in embarrassment, flushing dark red. David face was redder than his hair.

“N-no sir- I mean yes sir!” David fumbled, shaking his head quickly. “I understand!”

“Bueno,” Joaquín said, turning to Gwen,

“¿Dónde estás mi nieto?” Gwen glanced away for a minute.

“Resting.” She said. “He’s been through a lot the past few weeks.”

Joaquin nodded in understanding. “Let me know when it’s ok to see him.” He said. “Valentína is practically vibrating with excitement.”

Gwen pecked a kiss to her father’s cheek, hugging him tightly.

“I will, papí,” She said.

He pressed a kiss to her hair and locked his arms firmly around her, careful not to squeeze too hard.

Just before leaving, Joaquin eyed David threateningly and pointed towards him.

“I’m watching you, niño.” He growled before heading out the door and slamming it shut.

“He seems...nice?” David said cautiously. Gwen huffed.

“Yeah, He’s no angel but he’s doing is best.” She said, sitting on his bed side. David took her hand, lifting it to kiss her knuckles.

“He’s right though,” David said. “I want to set a good example for Max and Ezekiel.”

He took her hand tightly, giving it a squeeze.

“But I really love you, Gwen.” He said. “Don’t ever think that I don’t, I just...”

His words faltered and he looked utterly defeated.

“Please don’t be upset or dissatisfied with me.”

Gwen smiled and leaned into his lips, kissing him gently. Though it was just a small kiss, David blushed vibrantly and a goofy smile formed on his lips.

“I love you too, David.” Gwen assured. “And if keeping a bit of space between us is what you want then I’m ok with that. So long as I can still kiss you, hug you, and smother the hell out of you then I’m okay.”

David grinned up at her and pulled her back against him, kissing her lips, cheeks, and temples.

“I-“ he kissed her cheek “Love-“ a kiss was pecked to her nose “-You!” He chirped between kisses, bumping his nose to hers.

If it weren’t for her reputation of being a sassy and apathetic, Gwen would have squealed and giggled like a high schooler holding hands with her boyfriend for the first time. But her reputation wouldn’t stop her from enjoying her puppy dog, sugar fueled boyfriend’s love and affection.

She rolled her eyes and beamed as he pecked another kiss to her nose. She curled up on the bed beside him, snuggled into his side and held him close.

David rested his cheek on her head and breathed in her lavender and chocolate scent. So pleasant, warm and just homely. He just wanted to hold her forever, out of the reach of her worries, anxieties, and cruel hands of someone he knew was gone but still irked him. If only he got a chance to give Daniel a good punch before he died.

“I hated seeing the way Daniel spoke to you and touched you, like you were something he owned.” David sighed, kissing her head. “Because you’re not, Gwen. You belong to you.”

Gwen cocked a brow up at him. He looked like he was trying to contain old fury, still bubbling to the surface in a low glare.

“I thought I told you to stay back out of sight.” She commented.

“I know but I just wanted to see if you’d be ok and then I saw him kiss you and...” David mumbled. “I wanted to hurt him.”

David’s grip tightened significantly around her. Was that a hint of jealousy in those puppy dog eyes?

Gwen tilted her head up and kissed his chin. “That kiss between Daniel and I meant nothing, I just needed to get close enough to pin him with the knife,” She assured him. “I hated it just as much as you did.”

David glanced away. “I know but still...” He mumbled. “I hate him for touching you like that.”

Gwen smirked and looked up at him. “Are you jealous?” She teased, lightly tickling him under his chin.

“ _Yes_.” He said firmly, pouting and looking away.

Gwen chuckled lowly, shaking her head in amusement. It was kinda attractive actually, how lovingly protective he was, not fueled by possessive behavior and toxicity.

“Well, don’t be.” She purred, looking down on his face, hands set on either side of his head.

David flushed bright red, hands glued to her sides. She looked over him and gently brushed his nose to hers in a butterfly kiss, careful not to lean too much of her weight on him. He swallowed nervously and looked up to her, eyes fluttering shut as she kissed his lips tenderly. When she pulled away, she gently cupped his cheek with one hand.

“My heart is yours, David,” she said softly before kissing him again. “Because I choose to give it to you.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

That night, Gwen curled up in her chair within Ezekiel’s hospital room. She came in late to let him rest. He was fast asleep now, curled up snuggly in the covers. But his expression was tense and worried. Odd, but she didn’t want to wake him from much needed sleep.

She didn’t feel like sleeping right now. She worried if she closed her eyes, she wake up in the white room, no matter how much she reminding herself that all threat was eliminated. One of them in particular by her own hand.

She opened up her a not very interesting magazine. As she read an article, soft mumbling stirred her from it. Gwen looked up from her magazine to Ezekiel. He shifted and mumbled something, expression tense.

“Momma...” He whispered, yet he was still fast asleep.

He jerked violently and his expression became one of terror. Gwen quickly rose to her feet and crossed the room to his bed.

“Ezekiel, wake up,” Gwen said, forcing her voice to be calm. "Wake up, honey."

She firmly shook his shoulder. His eyes open quickly, gaze wild and terrified.

“NO!” Ezekiel shrieked as he jerked into a sitting position, reaching out to something he had seen in his sleep.

His terrified and confused gaze darted around the room as he refocused, blinking and panting.

“It’s ok, Ezzi, it was just a bad dream,” Gwen soothed, brushing his sweat damp hair aside. "It's all over now. I'm here."

Ezekiel quickly wiped away a few stubborn tears that gathered in his eyes and pulled his knees to his chest.

“It was a bad one.” He said softly.

“Was it Daniel?” Gwen asked, gently carding her fingers in his hair.

Ezekiel nodded, eyes fixed firmly on his knees.

“He killed you,” Ezekiel explained. “He shot you.”

“Oh.” Gwen murmured, glancing away from him.

She gently crawled into the bed, wrapping her arms around him. Ezekiel leaned into her, resting his head against her chest and listening to her heartbeat. A steady thumping of the life organ in her chest calmed his own heart, the soft beat slightly faster than hers.

Slowly, she began to rock him back and forth, a steady swaying rhythm that soothed his nerves. Ezekiel smiled as she hummed the camp lullaby to him. He ran the lyrics over in his head but didn’t want to break the warm, comforting melody of her singing. But he did have to reassure himself of one thing.

“Momma, promise me you’ll never leave me?” He said softly.

Gwen looked down at him, chin pressing into his hair. His big blue eyes looked up at her, wide and pleading. He looked at her like she could disappear at any second, leaving him clawing at empty air and begging for her to come back.

If only he knew how much of a reason he was for her to stay alive.

She had a particularly bad day with Daniel and was driven nearly mad, screaming and slamming her fists against the walls as tears streamed down her cheeks.

She decided she was done. Done with Daniel’s obsessive “love” for her, done with the beatings, done with the regret of missed opportunities from when she was free and happy. She was _done_.

She tied the rope Daniel had hidden under floor boards intended for who knows what to the ceiling fan. Standing on a chair, she fashioned a sloppy noose. Sloppy but would do the job with deathly precision.

Just as she began to slip it over her head, a crash rang out from her room and Ezekiel, then a baby, began to cry.

Her maternal instincts kicked in and she abandoned the noose. She burst into Ezekiel’s room to find his cradle on its side and her weeping son on the floor. The leg of the cradle had mysteriously broken, despite it being very fine wood, most likely stolen from a victim’s home.

She scooped her baby into her arms and tried to sooth him. Walking usually did the trick to calming him at night and her steps inevitably returned her to her noose in the living room.

Upon seeing her tool to suicide and realizing what she had almost done, she broke down in tears.

She would have left Ezekiel alone with her psychopathic “husband” to suffer at his hands, possibly be molded into the same monster Daniel had been. Unless Daniel killed himself upon finding her corpse hanging from the ceiling. Ezekiel would be left all alone and starve to death in his cradle, crying for a mother who would never come back to him. Or Daniel would have taken Ezekiel’s life too before killing himself.

She could never do that to Ezekiel. She loved him too much to make him hurt like that. So she lived and struggled to make life as easy as she could for him, no matter the suffering she was to endure. It was all for him.

And now it was for David and Max too. She’d go on living as long as she was allowed to, giving them the most love she could. Everything she did would be for all of them now.

“I promise, Ezzi,” She assured. “I’ll always be here for you, even if I’m not right there.”

Ezekiel smiled as and held her tight, pressing his cheek into her neck.

“I love you, momma,” He said softly, “Thank you for saving me.”

Gwen smiled and playfully tussled his hair.

“What was I supposed to do, let someone take my favorite boy in the whole world?” Gwen said. Ezekiel beamed brightly.

“I better be your favorite!” He giggled. “But I won’t tell David or Max, I promise!”

Gwen laughed softly and smushed sloppy kisses into his cheeks, tickling his sides as she squashed him into a hug. Ezekiel squealed and chortled as he playfully struggled, not really minding it at all.

She finally ceased her affectionate attack and laid him down, pulling the blanket up to his chin.

“Get some more sleep, ok?” She said quietly, cupping his cheek and swiping her thumb along the baby soft skin sweetly.

Ezekiel nodded, shifting under the blanket.

Gwen began to turn away from the bed and retreat to her chair.

“Momma?” Ezekiel whispered, peeking from the blankets. Gwen looked back at him and her heart practically dribbled into a puddle of sappy love.

His looked like a tiny kitten, big blue eyes blinking pleading up at her.

“Can you sleep next to me, please?” He said softly. “I just wanna cuddle for a little while.”

 _Oh my gosh, he’s too pure for this world_ , Gwen squealed internally.

With a smile, she climbed into the bed and snuggled up under the covers. Ezekiel turned into her and wrapped an arm around her middle, nestled into her arm.

As he drifted off to sleep, more content than before, Gwen watched over him. Everything she had done over the years was all for him. To keep him safe, to let him live a happy life, to be a better parent to him, everything was for him.

Gwen knew she was far from perfect but she had to say, she did a good job. With a pleased smile, she fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Only the epilogue is left!
> 
> Editorial note: I changed David's last name to Chastain; If i missed any alterations, then David’s last name Greenwood belongs to Forestwater!
> 
> What did you all think?


	18. Epilogue: The Autumn Change

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grand finale and conclusion to a story of almost a year’s worth of writing!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicated to AtlastheMajor, Tlou_Geek_inks, akipyromanic, smolcryingchildsitsalone287, Everybody_Dies, my beloved sister, and everyone who supported me in this story! This is for all of you.

_“Happy Birthday to you,_

_Happy Birthday to you!_

_Happy Birthday, dear Ezzi_

_Happy birthday to you!”_

The small party sang out, clapping enthusiastically as Ezekiel blew out his candles. Gwen kissed Ezekiel’s cheek after he had reduced the kindling flames to whispery smoke.

David snapped pictures quickly before setting the camera down to cut the cake. Ezekiel grinned as his father set the plate down in front of him. 

“Thanks, dad!” He said excitedly, digging into the fluffy slice of cake. David beamed down at him, ruffling his hair.

“That’s one slice for the birthday boy and one slice for Mad Max!” David said sweetly, setting down another plate for his oldest.

“Thanks, Dad.” Max said, less enthusiastic than his brother but content nonetheless.

David continued passing the cake slices around to Shavonni, her family, and Gwen’s parents, all giving David a polite “thank you.”

Shavonni playfully dipped her finger in the chocolate frosting and leaned across Gwen to dapple it to Ezekiel’s cheek. He laughed that sweet, little laugh of his and reciprocated the action, smearing the frosting across her nose.

“Woah hold up, pumpkin pies, I spent hours washing and ironing that dress so don’t go staining it with chocolate.” Bonquisha warned, jabbing her fork into the cake threateningly.

Gwen nodded in agreement with the other mother. “That goes for you too Ezzi, that shirt was pricey.” She said sternly.

“Sorry mom.” The two said in unison, giggling excitedly at each other.

As soon as the pair had finished, they excused themselves from the table and ran off to the backyard.

“They want to play outside?” Max grunted, crinkling his nose. “What is wrong with them?”

“They’re kids.” Gwen retorted. “Sunlight is good for them and the silence is good for me.”

“Amen to that, sister!” Bonquisha laughed, giving Gwen a fist bump.

David stood up to begin washing dishes but Gwen lightly grabbed his arm. “Babe, can we talk for a second?” She asked, quietly.

David set the plates down with a grin to his wife. “Of course, love!” He remarked.

Gwen stood up and lead her husband out of the area, ignoring Jacob’s snickers, Bonquisha’s teasing winks, and her dad’s narrowed protective gaze. As soon as they were out of ear shot, Gwen turned and hugged him tight.

“What’s up, sweetheart?” He asked, holding her sweetly and kissing the top of her head. “I’m sure you wouldn’t pull me away from everyone just for a hug.”

Gwen pulled away and looked him in the eyes, sea green connecting with vibrant amethyst.

“David, I’m pregnant.” She said quietly, a small smile tugging on her lips.

David’s eyes lit up and a gleaming smile bloomed across his face. He pulled Gwen into a tight embrace, stealing a kiss from her lips.

“We’re having a baby?!” He asked brightly as he pulled away.

Gwen couldn’t help but match him in enthusiasm, beaming and nodding quickly. She clasped his face between her hands and pressed a small kiss to the tip of his nose.

“Yes, we’re having a baby.” She confirmed, bumping her nose against his in an Eskimo kiss. “I found out this morning. I wanted to tell you when we weren’t so busy.”

He held her as tightly as he could to his chest, swaying a bit.

Just a year ago, if someone told him he’d be married to the woman he’d had lost for seven years and have a family with him, he would have said they were crazy. Or stopped talking to them altogether for fear they would bring up the topic again and cause him more heartache.

The same could be said for Gwen, only a much more violent reaction, most likely a punch in the nose. For seven years, she believed the only person she’d wake up next to would be the man who took her away from everything she knew and loved and hurt her countless times; the only life she would have would be one encased in white walls and black lies. But her little Ezzi would have made it much better.

Here they both were, enveloped in each other’s loving embrace, free from cultist threats and watching over their two sons, now with another gift of life on the way.

She couldn’t ask for more. 

David pulled away from the embrace and Gwen was dragged back to the present. “Look at that.” He said softly, pointing out the window of their room to the backyard.

Ezekiel and Shavonni were in the backyard, standing closely together and swinging their hands as they spoke. Ezekiel was talking on about something, free hand gesturing throughout the topic to accentuate anything he said.

Shavonni smiled and nodded before leaning her head down to kiss his cheek. That boy froze up like a deer in head lights, face flushing a bright pink. Shavonni laughed and Ezekiel fell out of his daze and laughed too, before jumping up and hugging her tightly. Shavonni locked her small, strong arms around his waist and hoisting him up, laughing and swaying him over the ground.

Gwen found herself smiling a bit, leaning her head on her husband’s shoulder.

“They’re so cute.” She murmured, pressing up to David. “I’d be all for it if they got married in the future.”

David nodded in agreement and kissed her head.

“When should we tell them about the baby?” Gwen asked, turning to hold him to her chest.

“Why not tonight?” David offered. “As a final birthday present?”

Gwen considered the concept for a moment before smiling a bit. “That sounds good.” She said. “He always wanted a little brother or sister growing up.”

“Do you want a daughter or another son?” David asked, a hand rubbing up and down her slender back.

“Uh, _daughter_!” She said as if it was the most obvious thing on the planet, a small laugh bubbling in her chest. “I’ve got two sons and a husband, I need a girl to hang out with!”

David chuckled and scooped her into a tight hug. “You make me the happiest man on earth.” He murmured, kissing her lips.

Gwen hummed into his kiss, tilting her head to feel more and fingers curling into the back of his green, plaid button up shirt.

David pulled away and bumped his forehead to hers. “We should head out.” David murmured. “Married or not, I think your dad’s castration threat isn’t quelled quite yet.”

Gwen laughed and took his arm. “Yeah, we kinda need that part of you.” She joked, bumping him with her hip.

“Gwen!” David scolded as a blush bloomed across his freckled cheeks, a warm smile giving away his amusement.

Gwen laughed and led him out to the party, joining their friends and family.

As the party went on, Gwen watched Ezekiel play in the back yard with Shavonni. The leaves of Fall showered down around him, her son raising his hands to catch the Autumn time’s gifts with a brilliant smile on his face. He loved the Autumn, as everything changed with crisp, cool colors and clarity.

Autumn. What a lovely name.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that’s the end to The One Good Thing! 
> 
> Thank you all for reading this story and for leaving so many wonderful comments and kudos. Words cannot express how happy you’ve made me. Except for Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.
> 
> What did you a think of this story as a whole? What was your favorite part? Did you prefer My Goddess on Earth or The One Good Thing? I want to hear your thoughts!
> 
> I’m happy to say that this isn’t the last you all will see of Ezekiel and there will be more oneshots featuring him and his family, my dears! I will be posting art of this story on my Instagram, silver.heart7 for those who want to see concept art for these stories! My DMs are always open!
> 
> Until then, sayonara my dears and adiós gyarados!

**Author's Note:**

> What did you think? Comments and constructive criticism are appreciated!


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